Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen August 1798 The National Assembly was influenced by The Declaration of Independence, and the ideas of The Enlightenment while creating this document. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen explains that all men are equal, and it guaranteed citizens rights and liberties that could not be taken away from them. False hope of granted freedom for the slaves was a signifiant underlying cause of the revolution. This document is important, because this is what the slaves of Haiti yearned and fought for.