Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the Declaration of Independence, the founding document celebrated by America250. Congress appointed Jefferson to the five-member Committee of Five that prepared the declaration in June 1776.
The other committee members were John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Robert R. Livingston, and Roger Sherman. Although the committee discussed the document and Congress substantially edited the draft, Jefferson wrote most of the original text.
Jefferson worked on the draft largely in Philadelphia between June 11 and June 28, 1776. John Adams supported choosing Jefferson partly because he was a Virginian and a strong writer. Franklin and Adams also reviewed the draft before it went to Congress.
Calling Jefferson the principal author does not mean he wrote the final document without changes. Congress removed, revised, and shortened passages during debate. The final Declaration therefore reflects both Jefferson’s draft and the collective work of the Continental Congress.