Thomas Jefferson wrote the principal draft of the Declaration of Independence, the document commemorated by America250.
Jefferson drafted the Declaration between June 11 and June 28, 1776, while serving on the Committee of Five appointed by the Second Continental Congress. The committee also included John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston. Jefferson’s draft was then debated and edited by Congress.
The final document set out the colonies’ case for independence and stated that governments derive their powers from the consent of the governed. Jefferson later became the third president of the United States, but his authorship of the Declaration predates his presidency by more than two decades.
A common misconception is that Jefferson wrote the Declaration entirely alone and without revisions. He produced the principal draft, but Congress changed portions of it during debate. John Adams and Benjamin Franklin were especially important members of the drafting committee, even though Jefferson wrote most of the text.