Who was the primary drafter of the United States Declaration of Independence?

Thomas Jefferson was the primary drafter of the United States Declaration of Independence. Congress appointed him to the Committee of Five that prepared the document in June 1776.

The committee also included John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Robert R. Livingston, and Roger Sherman. Although the committee presented the draft collectively, Adams and the other members selected Jefferson to write the main text. Jefferson produced his draft between June 11 and June 28, 1776, while Congress debated and revised it.

Jefferson therefore did not write the Declaration entirely alone, and he was not the only person who shaped its final wording. Congress removed and changed sections before adopting the document. The most famous passage, beginning “We hold these truths,” appears in the Declaration's second paragraph and expresses principles of equality and natural rights. The engrossed parchment was later prepared and signed by delegates, primarily on August 2, 1776.