Thomas Jefferson wrote the initial draft of the United States Declaration of Independence.
In June 1776, the Second Continental Congress appointed the Committee of Five to prepare a declaration explaining the colonies’ decision to separate from Great Britain. Jefferson, a Virginia delegate, produced the draft that the committee then reviewed and revised. The other committee members were John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston.
Jefferson’s draft drew on Enlightenment ideas about natural rights and legitimate government. Congress edited his language before adopting the final document on July 4, 1776. Jefferson was 33 years old at the time.
A common mix-up is to credit Jefferson as the sole author of the final wording. He was the principal drafter, but the committee and Congress shaped the text. Jefferson later served as the third president of the United States, from 1801 to 1809.