Thomas Jefferson wrote the main draft of the United States Declaration of Independence.
On June 11, 1776, the Second Continental Congress appointed a Committee of Five to prepare a formal explanation of independence. The committee included Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Robert R. Livingston, and Roger Sherman. Although Adams was a leading advocate of independence, he persuaded the committee to have Jefferson draft the document.
Jefferson wrote the first draft in Philadelphia between June 11 and June 28, 1776. He worked from a rented house near the Pennsylvania State House, later known as Independence Hall. The committee reviewed his work before submitting it to Congress, which revised the text during several days of debate.
Jefferson therefore receives primary authorship credit, but the final Declaration was a collaborative political document. Congress removed passages, changed wording, and approved the finished text on July 4, 1776. The document’s famous language reflects both Jefferson’s drafting and the broader arguments of the revolutionary era.