Five members served on the Committee of Five that drafted the Declaration of Independence.
Congress appointed the committee on June 11, 1776, to prepare a public explanation of the colonies’ decision to separate from Great Britain. Its members were Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston.
The committee asked Jefferson to prepare the initial draft, but the group reviewed it before presenting it to Congress. Congress then made additional edits during debate. The committee’s small size made drafting practical while preserving representation from several colonies and political viewpoints.
The Committee of Five is sometimes confused with the larger Second Continental Congress, which adopted the Declaration. The committee wrote and presented the draft; Congress debated and approved the final document. Both bodies were essential to the founding story highlighted by America250.