The Marquis de Lafayette (1757–1834), a general during the American Revolution and an important figure during the early days of the French Revolution, consulted with Thomas Jefferson about a declaration of rights before presenting one to the French National Assembly in July 1789. France’s Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, which was adopted by the French National Assembly on August 26, 1789, emulates the Declaration of Independence and the Virginia Declaration of Rights.