Jean-Jacques Rousseau Quotes
The social compact sets up among the citizens as equality of such kind, that they all bind themselves to observe the same conditions and should therefore all enjoy the same rights.
Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. The Social Contract. Translated by G. D. H. Cole, E. P. Dutton & Company, 1913.
This was the first major civil rights speech. He had previously in his political career tread carefully in the civil rights arena. The Southerners had disproportionate control over the Congressional committee chairmanships and they could hold up his entire legislative agenda. JFK’s father was a right wing fascist who supported Hitler earlier and always advised against pushing civil rights.
It is surprising that these ideas would come from one of the most autocratic powerful monarch in the world at the time. However there were many very liberal influences on her from Europe. This set of proposals she even sent to Voltaire to get his feedback and criticism.
Commenting on allowing gays to serve in the military:
First female presidential candidate & first divorcee to run for that office. The half to which she was referring were the females, who by many narrow laws were unable to participate in the intellectual and political life of the country. At the time, women could not even vote.
While this was a type of “Equal Rights Amendment”, It emphasized dignity rather than operations. For example, adultery was made a crime if committed by a woman (not for a man), And women could be dismissed from a job, simply because they were pregnant. And unusual aspect of this quotation is the fact that it applies to equality of dignity of Social status. In America we have this as an unwritten concept of fairness and egalitarianism, but it is not followed very much and certainly not guaranteed by our Constitution.
Although Holland was more egalitarian and fairer than most nations of Europe, it was not quite as desirable as Diderot described it. He only visited a part of Holland that was the most educated and affluent.
The committee to draft the Dutch Constitution had met and agreed on a basis for the constitution they would write. However, they decided to run the basis past the General Assembly before they started drafting specific language. There was much enthusiasm for their basis although there were a number of more conservative delegates who would rather have seen the Orangist monarchy brought back. It is easy to see how the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights influenced the Dutch drafters even though the American Constitution was only 11 years old.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolution and the development of modern political, economic and educational thought.
