Thomas Jefferson drafted the initial text of the Declaration of Independence, the document at the center of America250’s anniversary.
Congress appointed the Committee of Five on June 11, 1776, to prepare a declaration. The committee included Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Robert R. Livingston, and Roger Sherman. The group selected Jefferson to write the first draft.
Jefferson produced the draft in June 1776, and the committee presented it to Congress on June 28. Congress then made substantial edits, including removing a passage criticizing the institution of slavery before approving the final text on July 4.
Jefferson was the principal drafter, but the Declaration was not a solo publication. Congress debated and revised it, and the other committee members contributed to the drafting process. Franklin and Adams therefore played important roles without being the document’s main author.