Who wrote most of the Declaration of Independence, the document celebrated by America250?

Thomas Jefferson wrote most of the Declaration of Independence, the document celebrated by America250.

Jefferson drafted the document in June 1776 as a member of the Committee of Five appointed by the Second Continental Congress. The committee also included John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston. Although the committee reviewed the draft, Jefferson produced the main text.

Congress edited the document before adopting it on July 4, 1776. Its opening principles, including the assertion that people possess inalienable rights, became some of the most recognizable political language in American history. The Declaration explained why the colonies were separating from Great Britain.

Jefferson’s authorship does not mean he wrote every word in isolation or that the document was adopted unchanged. Congress made revisions during debate, and the Declaration drew on earlier political ideas and colonial grievances. John Hancock signed as president of Congress, but he was not the document’s principal author.