Who wrote the first draft of the Declaration of Independence?

Thomas Jefferson wrote the first draft of the Declaration of Independence. In June 1776, the Second Continental Congress appointed a five-member drafting group known as the Committee of Five, and the committee asked Jefferson to prepare the initial text.

Jefferson wrote most of the draft between June 11 and June 28, 1776, while staying in Philadelphia. The other committee members were John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Robert R. Livingston, and Roger Sherman. They reviewed Jefferson’s work before presenting it to Congress.

Congress then debated and edited the document. The final version was shorter than Jefferson’s draft and omitted several passages, including criticism of the slave trade. The wording was approved on July 4, 1776.

Jefferson’s role does not mean he acted alone. The committee shaped the submission, Congress revised it, and the Second Continental Congress adopted it collectively. John Adams and Benjamin Franklin were important contributors, but neither wrote the first draft. This collaborative history is a common point of confusion in accounts of the Declaration.