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Bezig met laden... Our Declaration: A Reading of the Declaration of Independence in Defense of Equality (2014)door Danielle S. Allen
Bezig met laden...
Meld je aan bij LibraryThing om erachter te komen of je dit boek goed zult vinden. Op dit moment geen Discussie gesprekken over dit boek. Well crafted sentences and paragraphs to dissect a fairly short (1,337 word) document. The premier of freedom and equality being the twins upon which the document and ultimately the Constituion lie was well presented. BThe short chapters were appealing when I commenced reading, but became tiresome about a third of the way through. ( ) 5341. Our Declaration A Reading of the Declaration of Independence in Defense of Equality, by Danielle Allen (read 9 Jan 2016) (Parkman Prize for 2015) This is a detailed study of the Declaration of Independence, taking it sentence by sentence. It aims to show that equality was as important to its authors as freedom. Other than decrying the expungement from the Declaration of lines decrying slavery--which Jefferson had put in his draft--it is laudatory of the document and of the men who signed.it. I read it because it won the 2015 Parkman prize and it is the 24th such winner I have read. But the Prize has been awarded for the last 59 years (the first one was awarded in 1957) so you can see that I have a lot more of the winners to read. Most of the winners that I have read I have enjoyed more than I did this one, but I suppose that is because I am more interested in history than in political theory. A great read! The author emphasizes the political philosophy and downplays the history. Very lucid and interesting discussion of the different aspects of equality present in the document. The author handles the failure to implement the ideals extolled in the document very well, I think. I recommend this for everyone to read. geen besprekingen | voeg een bespreking toe
Allen makes the case that we cannot have freedom as individuals without equality among us as a people. Evoking the colonial world between 1774 and 1777, Allen describes the challenges faced by John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston--the "Committee of Five" who had to write a document that reflected the aspirations of a restive population and forge an unprecedented social contract. Although the focus is usually on Jefferson, Allen restores credit not only to John Adams and Richard Henry Lee but also to clerk Timothy Matlack and printer Mary Katherine Goddard. Allen also restores the text of the Declaration itself. Its list of self-evident truths does not end with our individual right to the "pursuit of happiness" but with the collective right of the people to reform government so that it will "effect their Safety and Happiness." The sentence laying out the self-evident truths leads us from the individual to the community--from our individual rights to what we can achieve only together, as a community constituted by bonds of equality. Geen bibliotheekbeschrijvingen gevonden. |
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Google Books — Bezig met laden... GenresDewey Decimale Classificatie (DDC)973.3History and Geography North America United States Revolution and confederation (1775-89)LC-classificatieWaarderingGemiddelde:
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