In the discourse of the age of Atlantic revolutions, no idea had a more enduring resonance than that of “rights” — natural rights, political and civic rights, and “the rights of man” or, in a more recent expression, “human rights.” However these rights were defined, they were understood as both natural and universal. They were considered inherent in the human condition rather than granted by some authority, and they were envisioned as being the same for everyone rather than depending on a person’s birth, rank, or status in society. Growing out of the European Enlightenment, this understanding of “rights” was genuinely revolutionary, challenging almost all notions of government and society prior to the late eighteenth century. But even among supporters, the idea of human rights was highly controversial. What precisely were these rights? Did they support or contradict one another? Did they really apply equally to women and slaves? How should they be established and maintained? Such questions were central to this age of revolution and have informed much of the world’s political history ever since.