Who largely drafted the United States Declaration of Independence?

Thomas Jefferson largely drafted the United States Declaration of Independence.

Jefferson wrote the principal draft in Philadelphia between June 11 and June 28, 1776. He was chosen for the Committee of Five, the congressional group assigned to prepare a declaration explaining why the colonies were separating from Great Britain. The committee also included John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Robert R. Livingston, and Roger Sherman.

Jefferson’s draft was not adopted unchanged. The committee reviewed it, and the Second Continental Congress debated and edited the text over several days. Congress removed sections, altered wording, and approved the final version on July 4. Jefferson therefore served as the principal draftsman, but the Declaration was a collaborative congressional document.

The document’s ideas also drew on broader political traditions, including natural-rights arguments associated with John Locke and language shaped by revolutionary debates. Jefferson later became the third president of the United States, while Adams and Franklin also held major national roles.