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

Allen reviews the terrain she has already covered: the Declaration’s ideas about equality, the function of government, dialogue between individuals, and the importance of dialogue and exchange in defending dignity and agency. She defines the final facet of equality as “co-creation and co-ownership of our shared world” (258).

In the Declaration’s final section, Jefferson evokes the principle of “consanguinity” between the colonists and Britain—they are in a family relationship to one another, and thus the British people should support the colonists. Allen suggests that beyond this emotional appeal lies a strategy to get Parliament to support the colonial cause. With the use of “therefore,” the colonists advertise that they have reached their final course of action—they must separate from Britain because of all that has come before and because of the British people’s ongoing failure to defend them. The British people will be treated as friends only when they act in a friendly way; if they are antagonistic, they will be treated accordingly, regardless of the ties that once connected the two groups.

Finally, the text formally declares independence, pronouncing the colonies “free and independent states” (264). The language closely echoes previous resolutions from Lee in sessions of the Continental Congress, demonstrating the Declaration’s status as “democratic art.