Who will write the Declaration of Independence?

Thomas Jefferson thought John Adams should write the first draft, but Adams knew he, like his cousin Sam Adams, was too unpopular. They had both been involved in too many controversies to take the lead on this important task.Roger Sherman was an outstanding lawyer but he was no writer. Robert Livingston, a major landowner on New York, was dithering about declaring independence. Benjamin Franklin was suffering from a painful attack of gout.

So, the task of writing the first draft of the Declaration of Independence fell to 33-year-old Thomas Jefferson.At William & Mary, Jefferson had received a fine education. He had studied the writings of political philosophers John Locke and Montesquieu and had been mentored by some of the best minds in the colonies, George Wythe and Francis Fauquier.

He was well prepared.

Learn more about The Origins of American Independence.

Thomas Jefferson by Mather Brown