The Committee of Five was the five-member group that drafted the Declaration of Independence commemorated by America250.
Congress appointed the committee in June 1776. Its members were Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston. Jefferson wrote the principal draft, while the other members reviewed and revised it.
The committee presented its draft to Congress on June 28, 1776. Congress debated and edited the text before unanimously adopting the Declaration on July 4. The document announced the thirteen colonies’ separation from Great Britain and explained the political principles behind that decision.
The committee is sometimes confused with the Second Continental Congress, which debated and adopted the document. The Committee of Five prepared the draft; Congress made the final decision.