Thomas Jefferson is credited as the principal drafter of the United States Declaration of Independence, commemorated during America250.
In June 1776, the Second Continental Congress appointed a Committee of Five to prepare a formal explanation for separating from Great Britain. The committee included Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston. Jefferson, then 33, wrote the main draft in Philadelphia between June 11 and June 28, 1776.
The committee reviewed Jefferson’s work before presenting it to Congress. Congress then debated and edited the text, removing roughly a fourth of the draft and making other changes. One famous passage about slavery was deleted during this process.
Congress adopted the Declaration on July 4, 1776. Jefferson’s role as principal drafter does not mean he wrote every final word: Congress shaped the document through collective debate and revision. The finished text announced that the thirteen colonies were free and independent states and listed political principles that later influenced democratic movements worldwide.