Final answer:
The French Revolution granted full citizenship rights to men of property but largely excluded women, the poor, and people of color. Women such as Olympe de Gouges advocated for gender equality, but full suffrage for French women was not realized until 1944. The revolution inspired future civil rights expansions despite its initial limitations.
Step-by-step explanation:
The outcomes of the French Revolution were complex and nuanced when it came to the question of who achieved full rights of citizenship. Initially, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen promised that all male citizens were to be treated equally under the law and provided the right to participate in governance. However, this inclusivity was not extended to women, the poor, or people of color. For instance, men of property were primarily the ones to gain full citizenship rights. Women, despite their significant contributions and active participation in the revolution, along with people of color and the poor, were largely excluded from these new rights.
In 1791, Olympe de Gouges tried to address this imbalance by drafting the Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Female Citizen, which asserted that women should have rights equal to men. Nonetheless, women met resistance and were denied these rights; full suffrage for French women didn't arrive until 1944, and the struggle for a truly universal declaration of rights continued well into the 19th and 20th centuries. This slow but inexorable march towards greater inclusivity and equality reflected the evolving ideals of liberalism and was part of the broader historical process that would eventually lead to the extension of citizenship rights to broader sections of the populace in many Western nations.
While the achievements of the French Revolution did pave the way for future advancements in civil liberties, the revolution itself had limitations in how it applied Enlightenment ideals of liberty and equality. The documents and declarations of the time did inspire other movements, such as the fight against slavery in French territories and eventually in the Americas. However, as clear as it is that the French Revolution did not grant full citizenship rights to everyone, it set into motion the discussions and dissent that would be necessary for those rights to be recognized later on.