Who drafted the Declaration of Independence commemorated by America250?

Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence commemorated by America250.

Jefferson wrote the initial draft in June 1776 after the Second Continental Congress appointed a five-member Committee of Five. The committee also included John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Robert R. Livingston, and Roger Sherman. Although Jefferson produced the main text, Congress debated and edited it before adoption.

The Declaration is not best understood as Jefferson’s work alone. Adams and Franklin reviewed the draft, and the full Congress removed passages and changed wording during several days of debate. The final document was therefore a collective act of the Continental Congress.

Jefferson later became the third president of the United States. His authorship is often confused with sole authorship, but the committee process and congressional revisions were crucial. America250 commemorates the adopted document, not merely the first draft Jefferson prepared.