Who wrote the main draft of the Declaration of Independence, a document central to America250?

Thomas Jefferson wrote the main draft of the Declaration of Independence, a document central to America250.

Congress appointed the Committee of Five on June 11, 1776, to prepare a public explanation of the colonies’ decision to separate from Great Britain. The committee included Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston. Jefferson, the youngest member, produced the principal draft.

The committee and then Congress revised Jefferson’s wording. Congress removed or changed several passages, including a lengthy section criticizing the slave trade and slavery. The final document therefore represents congressional approval, not an untouched manuscript by one author.

Jefferson later described himself as the Declaration’s author, but he did not act alone in its final form. Another frequent error is assigning authorship to Benjamin Franklin or John Adams because both helped edit the draft. Their contributions were important, yet Jefferson remains the accepted principal drafter.