Who principally drafted the United States Declaration of Independence?

Thomas Jefferson principally drafted the United States Declaration of Independence.

In June 1776, the Second Continental Congress appointed a five-member Committee of Five to prepare a declaration. The committee included Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston. Although the committee worked collectively, it asked Jefferson to write the initial draft.

Jefferson composed the draft mainly between June 11 and June 28, 1776. Congress then debated, edited, and shortened his wording before approving the final document on July 4. The finished Declaration therefore reflects both Jefferson’s authorship and Congress’s revisions.

A common mistake is to call Jefferson the sole author. He wrote the principal draft, but the document was presented by the committee and adopted by the Second Continental Congress. That collaborative process is part of the history commemorated by America250.