Thomas Jefferson drafted the initial version of the Declaration of Independence, the document celebrated by America250.
In June 1776, the Second Continental Congress appointed the Committee of Five to prepare a declaration explaining the colonies’ decision to separate from Great Britain. The committee included Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston.
Jefferson wrote the draft between June 11 and June 28. Adams and Franklin reviewed it before the committee presented it to Congress. Congress then edited the text, removing or changing several passages before adopting the final document.
Jefferson was the principal drafter, not the sole author of the final wording. Congress made important revisions, including removing Jefferson’s criticism of the slave trade. The document’s authorship is therefore best described as Jefferson’s draft shaped by committee review and congressional debate.