The American Declaration of Independence, together with the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, can be considered as the prototype of the foundation documents of all modern democracies. It was based on the assumption that man has a God-given rational nature guiding his free will as self-ruling. So, it placed reason before will.The French Revolution, on the other hand, in spite of its avowed cult of reason by "Liberty, Equality and Fraternity", in fact disavowed reason and made the will of the people majority rule the source of civil power. Thus will was placed before reason.Which of the two Revolutions is the genuine democratic one? The elucidation of this issue, so vital for our time, is the purpose of this paper. The analysis undertaken, with a previous clarification of terms is both philosophical and historical as only the latter can provide the basis for a philosophical reflection
