Who largely wrote the United States Declaration of Independence?

Thomas Jefferson largely wrote the United States Declaration of Independence.

Congress appointed a five-member drafting committee on June 11, 1776. It included Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston. The committee asked Jefferson to prepare the principal draft because of his reputation as a powerful writer.

Jefferson composed the draft between June 11 and June 28, 1776. The committee reviewed it, and the Continental Congress then made substantial edits before adopting the final version.

Jefferson was not the sole author of the document’s final wording. Congress removed passages, changed phrasing, and shortened the draft during debate. Even so, Jefferson is correctly identified as the document’s principal writer.