The Declaration of Independence

Thomas Jefferson’s Draft of the Declaration of Independence

The Declaration is a foundational document in American history. It’s own history, however, is often forgotten. It was as much a product of debate, revision, and political compromise as any other document.

 

Introduction

Background

On June 11, 1776, the Second Continental Congress appointed what was known as a the “Committee of Five.” This committee consisted of John Adams (Massachusetss), Banjamin Franklin (Pennsylvania), Thomas Jefferson (Virginia), Robert R. Livingston (New York), and Roger Sherman (Connecticut). Their duty was to draft a declaration announcing the indepedence of the British colonies, if such an event were to happen.

The main architects of the draft, however, were Adams, Franklin, and Jefferson. Jefferson took the lead on crafting the initial language of the draft, which Adams and Jefferson saw before it was presented to the rest of Congress.

Jefferson wrote the draft with little literature to pull from. Famous among his peers for his memory, it is thought he only had a couple of documents with him to work from, including Virginia’s recent Declaration of Rights, authored largely by George Mason.

Further Reading

Maier, PaulineAmerican Scripture: Making the Declaration of Independence. New York: Vintage, 1998. 

Allen, Danielle S. Our Declaration: A Reading of the Declaration of Independence in Defense of Equality. New York: Liverright, 2015.

Gordon-Reed, Annette and Peter S. Onuf. “Most Blessed of the Patriarchs:” Thomas Jefferson and the Empire of the Imagination. New York: Liverright, 2016.

Citations

Citations Here