Thomas Jefferson wrote the first draft of the United States Declaration of Independence, the document commemorated by America250.
On June 11, 1776, the Second Continental Congress appointed a Committee of Five to prepare a declaration. Its members were Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston. The committee selected Jefferson to produce the initial draft.
Jefferson wrote the draft mainly between June 11 and June 28, 1776. Congress then debated and revised his text, removing or changing several passages before approving the final wording on July 4. The document explained why the thirteen colonies were ending their political connection with Great Britain.
Jefferson was not the sole author of the final document. Adams and Franklin advised him, and the full Congress edited the draft. This is why “wrote the first draft” is more precise than saying Jefferson alone wrote the entire final Declaration.