Thomas Jefferson drafted the initial version of the Declaration of Independence for the event commemorated by America250.
On June 11, 1776, the Second Continental Congress appointed the Committee of Five to prepare a declaration explaining independence. The committee included Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston. Jefferson produced the principal draft between June 11 and June 28.
Congress then edited the text during debate, removing and revising passages before adopting the final version on July 4. Jefferson therefore wrote the primary draft, but he was not the sole author of the document as finally approved.
Jefferson later became the third president of the United States. His authorship is also why the declaration is frequently linked with his famous language about equality and unalienable rights, even though the final wording reflects congressional revisions and the committee’s review.