Who wrote the initial draft of the Declaration of Independence for the Committee of Five?

Thomas Jefferson wrote the initial draft of the Declaration of Independence for the Committee of Five.

Congress appointed the five-member committee on June 11, 1776. Its members were Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston. Although the committee discussed the document’s general structure, Jefferson produced the main draft.

Jefferson wrote most of the draft between June 11 and June 28 while staying in Philadelphia. The full Congress then debated, shortened, and revised the text before adopting it on July 4.

Jefferson’s authorship does not mean he wrote the final document without changes. Congress removed passages, altered wording, and made other editorial decisions. The final Declaration therefore reflects both Jefferson’s drafting and the collective action of the Second Continental Congress.