Thomas Jeffersonwasn’t recognized as the principal author of the Declaration of Independence until the 1790s; the document was originally presented as a collective effort by the entire The Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. We now credit Thomas Jefferson with the Declaration’s authorship, but that was not the case on that momentous day, nor for a significant time afterwards. Declaration of Independence, document approved by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, that announced the separation of 13 North American British colonies from Great Britain. On July 2 the Congress had resolved that ‘these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be Free and Independent States.’ When asked, “Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?” the short answer is Thomas Jefferson. At just 33 years old, Jefferson was chosen by the Second Continental Congress to draft the document. Thomas Jefferson was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence, but he did not work alone. On June 7, 1776, Virginia Delegate Richard Henry Lee put forward a resolution that "all political connection between them [the Colonies] and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved." (This is Professor Julian Boyd's reconstruction of Thomas Jefferson's "original Rough draught" of the Declaration of Independence before it was revised by the other members of the Committee of Five and by Congress. They were John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Robert R. Livingston, and Roger Sherman. Thomas Jefferson was assigned to write the Declaration of Independence text. He drafted it between June 11 and June 28, 1776. The Congress then edited it. The Declaration of Independence was unanimously voted approval on July 4, 1776. On July 4, 1776, the United States officially declared its independence from the British Empire when the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration was authored by a “Committee of Five”—John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Robert Livingston, and Roger Sherman—with Jefferson as the main drafter. But Jefferson himself later admitted In Congress, July 4, 1776. The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to The original Declaration of Independence is now housed in the National Archives in Washington, D.C., where it is carefully preserved and displayed for the public. Its faded ink and yellowed parchment serve as a tangible reminder of the sacrifices and convictions of the Founding Fathers, as well as the ongoing struggle to realize the Declaration In Congress, July 4, 1776. The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to Jefferson largely wrote the Declaration in isolation between June 11 and June 28, 1776. The Declaration was a formal explanation of why the Continental Congress voted to declare American independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. Thomas Jefferson wrote the original draft of the Declaration of Independence. He edited his own work, then shared a “clean” draft of his work with John Adams and Benjamin Franklin. Who Wrote the Declaration of Independence? Thomas Jefferson is considered the primary author of the Declaration of Independence, although Jefferson's draft went through a process of revision by his fellow committee members and the Second Continental Congress. On this desk Thomas Jefferson wrote the first draft of the Declaration of Independence in June 1776. Jefferson himself had designed the desk, including a hinged writing board and a locking drawer for papers, pens, and inkwell. The desk was Jefferson’s companion as a Revolutionary patriot, American diplomat, and president of the United States. Thomas Jefferson was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence, drafted in June 1776. However, the document was reviewed and edited by John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and other members of the drafting committee before being finalized by the Continental Congress. The contradiction between the claim that "all men are created equal" and the existence of American slavery, including Thomas Jefferson himself owning slaves, attracted comment when the Declaration of Independence was first published. Before final approval, Congress, having made a few alterations to some of the wording, also deleted nearly a Drafting the Declaration of Independence in 1776 became the defining event in Thomas Jefferson's life. Drawing on documents, such as the Virginia Declaration of Rights, state and local calls for independence, and his own draft of a Virginia constitution, Jefferson wrote a stunning statement of the colonists' right to rebel against the British government and establish their own based on the Who wrote the Declaration of Independence? The Declaration of Independence was primarily written by Thomas Jefferson, although he was advised and aided by Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Robert R. Livingston, and Roger Sherman. Timothy Matlack was probably the person who wrote — or engrossed — the text of the Declaration on the document that was signed. He is known as the “Scribe of the Declaration of Independence.” Delegates began signing the Declaration of Independence on August 2, 1776, after it was engrossed on parchment.
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