Description
“A tour de force. . . . No one has ever written a book on the Declaration quite like this one.” —Gordon S. Wood, New York Review of Books
Our Declaration has already come to be regarded as a seminal work that reinterprets the promise of American democracy through our founding text. On the 250th anniversary of the Declaration and with over a decade of hindsight, renowned political philosopher Danielle Allen recontextualizes her revelatory book with a stunning new foreword. Combining a personal account of teaching the Declaration with a vivid evocation of the colonial world between 1774 and 1777, Allen reveals our nation’s founding text as not a catechism to be memorized but an animating force that can and did change the world. Challenging conventional wisdom, Allen finds “new meaning in Jefferson’s understanding of equality” (Joseph J. Ellis), boldly making the case that the Declaration is a document as much about political equality as about individual liberty. Beautifully illustrated throughout, Our Declaration is an “uncommonly elegant, incisive, and often poetic primer on America’s cardinal text” (David M. Kennedy).
Reviews
"The book is a tour de force of close textual analysis." — Gordon S. Wood, New York Review of Books
"Our Declaration is an artful, often elegiac meditation on the meaning of Jefferson's famous words for our time. Allen brings the analytical skills of a philosopher, the voice of a gifted memorialist, and the spirit of a soulful humanist to the task at hand, and manages to do something quite rare, find new meaning in Jefferson’s understanding of equality." — Joseph J. Ellis, author of Revolutionary Summer: The Birth of American Independence
"Our Declaration sets forth a bold thesis...Allen’s passion for each of the Declaration’s 1,337 words is admirable." — Steven B. Smith, New York Times Book Review
"This wise and rich book is what we need in these troubled times—a robust and persuasive defense of equality and liberty grounded in our national scripture. Danielle Allen is a towering political philosopher of the democratic art of being and a force for good!" — Cornel West, author of Democracy Matters: Winning the War on Imperialism
"Danielle Allen celebrates the Declaration of Independence by reading it closely—line by line, comma by comma—and invites her fellow citizens to do the same. The result is a richly rewarding book that demonstrates the pleasures of slow reading, the power of words to shape events, and the importance of equality to democratic life." — Michael Sandel, author of What Money Can’t Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets
"Danielle Allen's poignant and personal reflection on the Declaration of Independence is a rare and singular work...[S]he has written a book that throws open a door to a large circle of readers: anyone with a stake in democracy. Her observations about the importance of language in building and sustaining a republic are especially resonant and worthy of the towering rhetoric of the Declaration. Our Declaration holds the promise of both discovery and rediscovery whether you've never read the Declaration or have memorized each of its 1,337 words." — Ann Marie Lipinski, curator, Nieman Foundation for Journalism, Harvard University
"Our Declaration is a primer on all that we have been missing...Not just an invaluable civics lesson but also a poignant personal memoir...Allen is an evangelist for this romantic moment in American history when men of uncommon vision and political deftness stated their case and listed their grievances against the most powerful nation on Earth." — Thane Rosenbaum, The Washington Post
"An astounding new book that should reinvigorate public understanding of the founding document of the United States...Reading Ms. Allen makes reading the Declaration meaningful and enjoyable—a powerful enough lesson in it's own right." — Sarah J. Purcell, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"At once simple, sharp and deftly executed." — Kirkus Reviews
