Citizenship is a fundamental concept in social life, entailing rights, obligations, and relationships with others. Modern citizenship did not emerge from a philosopher's study or a laboratory experiment; instead, it was decisively shaped in the French Revolution. This book is about the processes by which that happened.

The creation of a new kind of citizenship was not a simple act. The rights and obligations of citizens were going to be extensive; they needed to be defined and debated. The topics discussed in this book, which detail these rights and obligations, will be of interest to...