Thomas Jefferson is credited with drafting most of the United States Declaration of Independence. In June 1776, the Second Continental Congress selected Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston as the Committee of Five to prepare a declaration.
Jefferson wrote the principal draft between June 11 and June 28 at his rented rooms in Philadelphia. The committee reviewed it, and Congress then made changes during debate. Jefferson’s language drew on ideas about natural rights and government by consent, while also presenting a formal list of complaints against George III.
Jefferson was a 33-year-old Virginia delegate when he wrote the draft. He later became the third president of the United States, serving from 1801 to 1809. Although Jefferson is the best-known author, the final Declaration was a congressional document, not a text published unchanged under his name.