Our Declaration: A Reading of the Declaration of Independence in Defense of Equality

Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2014

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Part 1, Chapters 3-4Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1: “Origin”

Part 1, Chapter 3 Summary: “Loving Democracy”

Allen continues marrying the personal and the political by exploring her early interest in the concepts of freedom and equality. She admits that while the Declaration resonates with her, her commitment to freedom likely has deeper and more personal roots. Allen recalls being bullied in childhood by her grandmother, who likely had a mental illness and was uneasy about having a Black son-in-law. Her grandmother constantly criticized her, down to her hair and personal habits. Eventually, Allen’s brother reminded her that she could choose to ignore any criticisms, and in so doing Allen “established for [her]self a platform of agency equal to [her grandmother’s], even if she didn’t know it” (40).

Allen concedes that this early experience may have helped establish her interest in democracy—that human relationships may serve as the basis for deeper thinking about politics and government. She recalls the various texts she read as a child that may have cemented these interests, concentrating particularly on the biblical story of Joseph and his brothers. Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery as a child, but he became politically prominent in Egypt and settled his family there after forgiving them. Their fortunes changed rapidly after his death, however, and Joseph’s descendants were enslaved in Egypt. This cemented for Allen that political guarantees of freedom are imperative, and she began to ponder the nature of freedom. Allen insists that while her academic career has been long and fruitful, it was only in revisiting the Declaration that she “got her answer” about the basis of human freedom (41).

Part 1, Chapter 4 Summary: “Animating the Declaration”

Allen returns to her classroom, noting that in later years she taught the Declaration of Independence not as a source for other courses but as a topic in its own right. She did this for her students, out of an overwhelming desire to help them reach a new political consciousness. Allen draws a connection between her book’s readers and those students as she announces, “I wanted them to own the Declaration of Independence. I want that for you too” (42). She admits that this task may be daunting, as not all people are readers or interested in history. Allen’s project, though, is to focus primarily on the Declaration itself, its logical arguments and philosophy, so that no deep historical study is required to understand her arguments about language and equality. She hopes to expand her audience so that her work can be read by anyone. She will discuss the Declaration’s origins primarily to explain “the art of democratic writing” and the role of language in constructing democracy (43).

Part 1, Chapters 3-4 Analysis

The blend of genres that characterizes Our Declaration—memoir, political philosophy, etc.—speaks to the fact that the Declaration of Independence and ideas of freedom and equality are deeply personal to Allen. Her ability to transform the pain of her grandmother’s insults into a concept of personal freedom, and extend these ideas into her readings of Bible stories, gives this philosophical project deep roots. These autobiographical details also help the reader form a personal relationship with the author. She frames herself not as inherently wiser or superior to her students or readers—instead, she emphasizes her own capacity for anger, vulnerability, and questioning.

Allen’s allusion to the biblical story of Joseph demonstrates The Transformational Power of Language. Paradoxically, a story that ends with freedom curtailed freed Allen, in the sense that it expanded her perspective on freedom’s importance. Allen in turn wants to free her readers in a more lasting way than Joseph freed his brothers, by giving them her interpretation of the Declaration without insisting they study history or philosophy. Allen’s childhood love of reading transformed her life, and she offers her readers the same gift as she invites them to engage with the Declaration on its own terms.