Which founding father drafted the Declaration of Independence for the Committee of Five?

Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence for the Committee of Five.

The Second Continental Congress appointed the Committee of Five on June 11, 1776, to prepare a public explanation of the colonies’ decision to separate from Britain. Its members were Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston. Jefferson, then 33, wrote the initial draft.

The committee reviewed Jefferson’s work before submitting it to Congress. Congress debated and edited the text, removing or changing several passages. One deleted section criticized the transatlantic slave trade, while other revisions shortened the document and adjusted its political language.

Jefferson’s role was important, but the Declaration was a congressional document rather than a text adopted exactly as he wrote it. Congress approved the final version on July 4, 1776. Jefferson later preserved his own draft papers, which help historians trace the document’s revisions.