CH 202: The Modern World --- Midterm

PART 1: Short Essay

What events have influenced the evolution of human rights? How has it affected the

modern World?

Something innately human that has been going on for hundreds of years is the fight for

fair and equal human rights. That fight, and the evolution of its results, can be seen throughout

history in countless impactful events. Some of these events have been more influential than

others; one particularly notable event is, of course, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

document of 1948. While this document is looked at as what officially gave all humans equal

and inalienable rights, two previous events are what really started the idea.

Many years prior to the Universal Declaration of Human rights, two other declaration of

rights were presented. These two events were extremely essential to the evolution of human

rights. The first of those events was The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen in 1789.

While on the outside, this document can be perceived as a large step forward in human rights, it

ultimately was a baby step. The document is a step forward because it finally allows humans the

rights to “liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression,” but it also brings up the

questions of who qualifies as a “man and citizen” (The Declaration of the Right of Man and

Citizen, 1789)? From reading this document you can easily make an educated assumption that

“man and citizen,” applies to only male property owners; this fact ultimately makes this

document nothing but a baby step forward. The second event was The Declaration of the Right

of Women and the Female citizen, 1791. This was a direct response to The Declaration of the

Right of Man and Citizen by a woman named Olympe de Gouges. In this document Olympe
essentially wrote the same thing as the previously mentioned document but added women to

every single right. This was yet another step forward in that it helped people realize that women

deserve all the innate human rights that men do. Of course, this wasn’t perfect either because

there were many other human rights issues not addressed, but it was yet another step forward.

Ultimately, these two events were essential to the evolution of human rights and helped

form it into what it is today. Neither of these declarations were perfect, but they did allow people

to realize that some form of universal human rights should exist and it should be able to be

changed. These documents were the building blocks to the more modern Universal Declaration

of Human Rights document. The making of this document is arguably the most important event

in the evolution of human rights, but it wouldn’t have happened without the making of the two

previous documents.

PART 11: Long Essay

According to Cassandra Fedele, what is the value of education? Why study the liberal arts

and humanities?

Cassandra Fedele (1465-1558) was one of the best-known scholars in Europe during her

lifetime. Something that was very clearly important to her, and was brought up numerous times

in her speeches and letters, was education. Fedele believed education to be an essential part of

anyone’s life for various reasons. This was unheard of at the time because education was not

something that most women received or cared to receive. Fedele believed liberal arts and

humanities to be the most important area of study; she thought that studying it would not only

give you various advantages in life, but also make you happier.