Additional Resource
Storytelling Pathways to Civics Engagement
Watch Roadtrip Nation’s Living Civics documentary and hear from leading universal civic learning experts on the power of narrative for civic engagement.
Commentary
“Our Declaration” Reissued for America 250
First published in 2014, Professor Danielle Allen’s Our Declaration has been reissued with a new foreword this year to mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
This commentary was originally published on the Harvard Kennedy School website.
First published in 2014, James Bryant Conant University Professor and Director of the Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation at the Ash Center Danielle Allen’s Our Declaration has been reissued with a new foreword this year to mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Our Declaration shares Allen’s personal story about teaching this foundational American document along with an account of the colonial world in which it was written and the philosophy that it expresses. “The purpose of this account will not be to retell a well-known tale but rather to discover, through that tale, the birth of the Declaration, the art of democratic writing,” Allen explains. “Democracies are built out of language. To succeed as citizens, we need to understand this fundamental political fact.”
Allen’s primary argument is that the Declaration of Independence is not simply about the concept of individual liberty but also about political equality, and that these two notions are interrelated. “Ideally, if political equality exists, citizens become co-creators of their shared world,” Allen writes. “Freedom from domination and the opportunity for co-creation maximize the space available for individual and collective flourishing.”
Commentary
Allen Lab Fellow Spotlight: Why a People-Centered Approach to American Democracy Matters Now
Allen Lab Policy Fellow Christine Slaughter makes the case that democracy must be understood through people’s lived experiences and agency, not just institutions.
Feature
A Summer Reading List for America’s 250th Anniversary
On July 4, 2026, America will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. As this milestone approaches, the team at the Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation has curated a collection of books, podcasts, and events that explore the meaning and impact of the declaration from 1776 to today. Join us in revisiting the document itself, reflecting on its legacy, and considering the ongoing struggle to uphold democratic ideals.