Crafting America’s Birth Certificate 250

Jefferson, the Committee of Five, and the making of the Declaration of Independence.

Craig Seibert | July 1, 2026

By the summer of 1776, the American colonies had reached a point of no return. More than a year had passed since the battles of Lexington and Concord ignited armed conflict with Great Britain. British troops had occupied Boston, King George III had declared the colonies to be in open rebellion, and hopes for reconciliation were rapidly fading.

In January 1776, Thomas Paine’s Common Sense transformed public opinion by arguing that independence was both practical and morally necessary. By June, several colonial governments had instructed their delegates to support independence. On June 7, Richard Henry Lee introduced his famous resolution declaring that “these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States.”

Congress recognized that independence required more than a vote. The world needed an explanation, and future generations needed a statement of the principles upon which the new nation would be founded. On June 11, 1776, the Second Continental Congress appointed a committee to prepare that declaration.

The Committee of Five

The Committee of Five consisted of Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, John Adams of Massachusetts, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, Roger Sherman of Connecticut, and Robert R. Livingston of New York.

John Adams later explained why Jefferson was selected to write the first draft. Jefferson possessed, in Adams’s words, “a happy talent of composition.” He wrote with uncommon clarity, elegance, and precision. As a Virginian, he also represented the South, giving the document broader acceptance throughout the colonies.

Working in rented rooms on Market Street in Philadelphia, the thirty-three-year-old Jefferson spent nearly two weeks crafting what would become one of the most influential political documents in history.

Every Word Carefully Chosen

Jefferson did not write casually. Drawing upon English common law, colonial declarations, the writings of John Locke, and the natural rights tradition, he carefully selected language that would express timeless truths rather than temporary political grievances.

His greatest achievement was not inventing new ideas but expressing familiar principles with extraordinary power.

He declared that “all men are created equal” and are “endowed by their Creator with........

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