Who was the principal author of the Declaration of Independence commemorated by America250?

Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the Declaration of Independence commemorated by America250.

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 Livingston. Jefferson wrote the main draft, which the committee reviewed before presenting it to Congress.

Congress revised the document during debate in late June and early July 1776. The final text therefore reflects congressional editing, not Jefferson’s untouched manuscript. Jefferson nevertheless remained its principal drafter and is most closely associated with its prose.

John Adams and Benjamin Franklin helped shape the project, while George Washington was serving as commander in chief of the Continental Army. None of those distinctions changes the canonical answer: Jefferson wrote the principal draft.