Our Declaration : a reading of the Declaration of Independence in defense of equality / Danielle Allen.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Part I. Origins -- Night teaching -- Patrimony -- Loving democracy -- Animating the Declaration -- Part II. Who wrote the Declaration of Independence? -- The writer -- The politicos -- The Committee -- The editors -- The people -- Part III. The art of democratic writing -- On memos -- On moral sense -- On doing things with words -- On words and power -- Part IV. Reading the course of events -- When in the course of human events -- Just another word for river -- One people -- We are your equals -- An echo -- Part V. Facing necessity -- ...it becomes necessary -- The laws of nature -- And nature's god -- Kinds of necessity -- Part VI. Matters of principle -- We hold these truths -- Sound-bites -- Sticks and stones -- Self-interest? -- Self-evidence -- Magic tricks -- The creator -- Creation -- Beautiful optimism -- Part VII. Matters of fact -- Prudence -- Dreary pessimism -- Life's turning points -- Tyranny -- Facts? -- Life histories -- Plagues -- Portrait of a tyrant -- The thirteenth way of looking at a tyrant -- The use and abuse of history -- Dashboards -- On potlucks -- If actions speak louder than words -- Responsiveness -- Part VIII. Drawing conclusions -- We must, therefore, acquiesce -- Friends, enemies, and blood relations -- On oath -- Real equality -- What's in a name?