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

After the colonists assert their equality with other nations, they invoke the rights that “nature and nature’s God entitle them” as the source and support for their new standing (130). Entitlement signifies ownership along with separation—their equality as states means the right to freedom from interference. God refers more to the laws of nature and observable phenomena than a particular deity. The “course” or “river” of events is governed by natural laws, like gravity, and the colonists assess this course to determine their future. A similar natural law, “their drive to survive” (132), acted as the force that moved them to their radical action. Thus, we may accept the right of nations to be left alone for their survival because we “respect God.” However, nonbelievers are equally bound to do this, which Allen demonstrates by pointing out that failure to respect nature and natural rights can have dangerous consequences, as when we “bring war on ourselves” (134). Allen then asks what the role of God is in the text—specifically, “[D]oes it matter whether God is in or out?” (134).

To determine the significance or role of God in the Declaration, Allen examines how and when references to God were inserted in the text. Most of the language was added by later editors, including Adams and Franklin; Jefferson’s draft refers only to “Nature’s God.” In this version, then, nature has order and goodness because of God, but that god is not necessarily Christian. Jefferson’s draft originally called its “truths […] sacred and undeniable” (136), and Adams inserted the reference to a “Creator.” This could have led to an interpretation of the Declaration as a dogmatic text: The Declaration’s rights are true because God says so. However, another edit toward the final version changes things; in the end, the fundamental truths of the Declaration become “self-evident.” This means that the proposition can be evaluated on its own terms, without reference to external information—or, presumably, a deity. 

The text’s next major religious reference comes when the colonists pledge their “sacred honor” to the cause of independence; Jefferson’s colleagues added references to “Divine Providence” and “The Supreme Judge of the World” to enhance the seriousness of their pledge (137-38). Though Jefferson’s colleagues considered this language essential, Allen argues that belief in God is not necessary for the Declaration to be convincing. Any fervent commitment to the rights of humans to survive that one “holds sacred” is sufficient.

The Declaration’s last type of necessity comes from the requirement to explain the reasons for separation from Britain. Again, Allen references divorce decrees; while most legal language asks for consideration of obstacles to divorce, the colonists “declare causes that justify it” (140). The colonists believe that at least some of the world can judge their cause fairly and accurately. This section also expands our understanding of how nature operates in the Declaration—it also governs social life. People can judge events for themselves but also for others, using what Jefferson would call “moral sense.” The colonists thus make practical and ideological judgments about all of the world; they decide that they need allies in their cause and that enough of the world can judge them fairly that it is reasonable for them to present their case.