In The Declaration of Independence: A Global History, David Armitage examines the American Declaration of Independence in an effort to find its true meaning, both for the United States and the world at large. Through his analysis, Armitage pursues three approaches to the global history of this document: the world in the Declaration, the Declaration in the world, and a world of Declarations. This may seem like a play on words, yet Armitage breaks down his analysis of the document so that it neatly fits within these three areas of interest. In this work, the author has created a piece of scholarship that is undoubtedly significant. The modern countries of the world are becoming more and more globalized each day. A book such as this gives a unique perspective which facilitates lucidity that a document such as the American Declaration of Independence was in fact the product of a world already familiar with the importance of a global consciousness.
In his first section, “The World in the Declaration of Independence”, Armitage analyzes the wording of the document and how that wording articulated deeper intentions with regard to the world at large. By breaking the Declaration down into five parts, the author is able to show that its purpose was not solely to vocalize the independence of the American colonies, but also to convey to the world that these thirteen colonies were “one people” and no longer tied to Great Britain. This is especially important and, in fact, quite ingenious. Many countries throughout Europe were on poor terms with the English. This document facilitated new economic possibilities with the colonies. Countries that were less likely to trade with the English were now open to trade with the colonies.
Armitage also makes an intriguing point regarding the futility and contradictory claims made by Great Britain with respect to the independence of the colonists. According to George III, the American colonies were “rebels, and hence outside his monarchical protection” (33). Parliament confirmed this royal proclamation in its Prohibitory Act of 1775. By that rationale, it would seem that the American Declaration of Independence was simply a document to officiate what was already a reality. However, by officially communicating this reality, the colonists placed their cause on the global stage. This gesture was not so much for global approval, as the colonists would have separated from Britain regardless of global opinion. Yet the Declaration was a means of standing up to be counted amongst the states of the world and attaining the recognition which was vital to its success and virility.
In the second section of the book, entitled “The Declaration of Independence in the World”, Armitage discusses the many global occurrences which affected the way the Declaration was viewed within the global theater. The French Revolution, for example, was in many respects likened to the conflict between America and Britain. However, Armitage states that “the French Revolution would cast other shadows across the cause of American independence.” (67) He states that although it is common to assimilate these two events, the political motivation behind each was quite different. Friedrich Gentz, a counter-revolutionary writer stated that “the American Revolution was from beginning to end, on the part of the Americans, merely a defensive revolution; the French was from beginning to end, in the highest sense of the word, an offensive revolution.” (68) However, this insight did not hinder the social acceptance of these two revolutions being akin.
The manner in which the British government responded to the Declaration was one of discretion and, in many cases, loathsome indifference. Armitage describes the reaction to the document on the western side of the Atlantic as being more oppressive and that “silencing the Declaration was a more effective governmental response to its challenge than attempting to refute it.” (74) This is significant, as the author stipulates, for two main reasons: the first is that for the loyalists to the King in the colonies, it seemed antithetical to publish the Declaration for fear that more colonists would rebel and join the fight for independence; the second, of course, pertains more to matters of power and importance. By giving the Declaration its just attention and consideration was in itself the means to place the document as a viable threat to monarchical control in the colonies.
In 1783, the British officially affirmed American independence in Article 1 of the Peace of Paris. The birth of the United States of America was indeed a feat that did not go unrecognized or unappreciated in the global theater. Edmund Burke eloquently surmises the victory as something new and never before seen; “A great revolution has happened—a revolution made, not by chopping and changing of power in any one of the existing states, but by the appearance of a new state, of a new species, in a new part of the globe.” (87)
The third and final section, entitled “A World of Declarations”, pulls away from the specifics of the American experience and instead focuses on the way in which said Declaration paved the way for others to follow suit. If Armitage is correct in his analysis, then other movements which spanned from the late eighteenth through the twentieth centuries may to a great extent be attributed to the fortuitous resolve of the American colonies. He observes that “the ultimate success of the Americans’ claim to independence encouraged others to follow their example, not only in claiming statehood as an escape from empire, but also in declaring independence as the mark of sovereignty.” (113) Although Armitage makes a compelling case for his no doubt thorough analysis, it is perhaps in this boastful claim that one may criticize Armitage for attributing too much to the influence the American Declaration of Independence had on communities around the globe. Many did go so far as to use the specific wording of the American document, and in these instances it is difficult to refute the obvious influence of the American Declaration. Yet Armitage draws examples from South America, Mexico, the Caribbean, Africa, Spain, and even Australia to show a common thread. At times, it seems as though he leaves no stone unturned and indeed all of the free nations of the world are indebted to the American Declaration. Yet as with any such claim, it is difficult to accept that argument fully and blindly.
David Armitage is the Lloyd C. Blankfein Professor of History and Director of Graduate Studies at Harvard University. The Declaration of Independence: A Global History is his most recent publication and is a testament to his profession and specialty. Indeed, the final one hundred pages of the book contain primary documents of Declarations of Independence around the globe spanning from the American Declaration in 1776 to the Southern Rhodesian Unilateral Declaration in 1965. In this book, Armitage has certainly offered a fine and compelling perspective on the historiography of global history and intellectual thought. Scholars working within this genre would be well served to familiarize themselves with developing arguments within the historiography which Amitage brings to light here. Although scholars will find this to be a valuable work, the author is readable for the popular audience as well.