Our Declaration – A Reading of the Declaration of Independence in Defense of Equality Paperback – Import, 28 April 2015

Immensely interesting. Reviews how it was written, edited, shaped and improved by a committee. The author points out that equality was considered as important as liberty, and after all if there is not complete equality there is no liberty either. It was written to motivate the artisan and farmer class to fight for the revolution - Tom Paine did a better job of that - and promised more equality than the wealthy white class was willing to grant (the case yet today), but it does state the basic principles on which the Constitution was based.

Ms Allen guides the reader through a reading of the Declaration, a slow reading. She takes each argument, each statement, each grievance and develops the content of how these 1,337 words reveal the Declaration's thesis of independence and equality. She is knowledgeable and careful, reiterating how each sentence develops the passion, dedication and struggle of the writers -- the Group of Five, state representatives to the congress, and printers -- to state, submit, justify and defend their separation from the country that was their government to form another. Worthy read.

This is an excellent deep dive into the Declaration of Independence. I recommend this book to everyone! This book is a must-read for anyone interested in freedom and equality. Danielle Allen is amazing at presenting background information on this subject.

Well written, but I think Allen brought a lot of baggage into her writing. At times it seems her conclusions are what she *wants* the Declaration to say, rather that what it actually says. It reminds me of how I would write a high school paper: pick the thesis, *then* look for evidence to support it.That's not to say this isn't well researched. I think it's superbly organized and makes many informed conclusions based on the facts. It's just that she occasionally makes assertions regarding the framers' intent with some weak support.

Though I wanted to like this book and read it very carefully for about 50 pages. I did not find helpful the minute detailed parsing of the the verbiage as beneficial as hoped.After 50 pages I read much more quickly. After 100 pages I could only tolerate skimming.What the author offers is of value though what she communicates would be much more effective if the book were edited down to 1/4 to 1/3 its length. I cannot recommend this read.