Which person wrote the principal draft of the United States Declaration of Independence?

Thomas Jefferson wrote the principal draft of the United States Declaration of Independence.

Jefferson was one of five delegates appointed by the Second Continental Congress to prepare the document. The Committee of Five also included John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston. Although the committee discussed and revised the text, Jefferson produced the main draft.

The committee presented its work to Congress in late June 1776. Congress then debated and edited the draft before adopting the Declaration on July 4. Jefferson’s original wording was therefore important, but the final document was the product of congressional revision and approval.

Jefferson later became the third president of the United States. Adams and Franklin, who served with him on the committee, also played major roles in the independence movement. The committee’s work is especially relevant to America250 because it connects the anniversary celebration to the document’s drafting process, not only to its final adoption.