Thomas Jefferson largely wrote the first draft of the Declaration of Independence, the document behind America250.
Congress appointed the Committee of Five on June 11, 1776, to prepare a declaration explaining the colonies’ decision to separate from Great Britain. The committee consisted of Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston. The other members selected Jefferson to draft the text.
Jefferson wrote most of the initial version between June 11 and June 28, 1776. The committee reviewed it and submitted it to Congress, which debated and revised the language before approving the final document on July 4.
Jefferson was the principal drafter, but the Declaration was a congressional document rather than a work published solely under his name. Congress removed or changed sections, including a lengthy passage criticizing the transatlantic slave trade. Jefferson later became the third president of the United States, while John Adams and Benjamin Franklin were among the other prominent contributors to the document’s creation.