Who drafted the first version of the Declaration of Independence commemorated by America250?

Thomas Jefferson drafted the first version of the Declaration of Independence commemorated by America250.

Congress appointed a Committee of Five to prepare a statement explaining why the colonies sought independence. The committee selected Jefferson to write the draft, and he produced the document in June 1776. The committee members were Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston.

Jefferson’s draft was not adopted unchanged. The committee reviewed it, and the Continental Congress made substantial edits during debate. Congress removed or altered passages, including Jefferson’s attack on the transatlantic slave trade, before adopting the final text on July 4.

Jefferson’s role does not mean he signed alone or acted as the declaration’s sole author in its final form. The document emerged through committee review and congressional revision. Jefferson later served as the third president of the United States.