A manifesto is a public declaration of the purpose, principles, or plan of action of a group or individual.

…derived from the Italian word manifesto, itself derived from the Latin manifestum, meaning clear or conspicuous. Its first recorded use in English is from 1620, in Nathaniel Brent‘s translation of Paolo Sarpi‘s History of the Council of Trent: “To this citation he made answer by a Manifesto” (p. 102). Similarly, “They were so farre surprised with his Manifesto, that they would never suffer it to be published”

Distinct permutations: the political promise, political party platform, the movement manifesto (including political and art manifestos, the personal manifesto (ugh).

Extensive collection of links to historical manifestos: http://www.manifestos.net/titles/