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The page below is part of a four-page draft composed by Jefferson and presented to the drafting committee, where changes suggested by Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and others can be seen. The Declaration as finally adopted is to be found in the Journals of Congress but that ‘fair copy’ which Jefferson speaks of as the report of the Committee of Five has not been preserved 1 while the original Rough Draft, as we have seen, seems to have been used by Jefferson as a memorandum upon which to note the later changes. In the month leading up to the ratification of the final copy, Jefferson drafted and revised several iterations of the Declaration. The Rough Draft of the Declaration of Independence was written by the Committee of five delegates appointed by the Second Continental Congress, where Thomas Jefferson was the main author.
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Less known and perhaps more interesting is the rough draft composed and revised prior to the accepted final copy, shown below.
#Rough draft of declaration of independence full#
Currently housed at the National Archives in Washington, DC, the Declaration is badly faded from past exposure to sun, temperature and humidity, though the parchment still conveys the full weight of its content in straight lines and a clean layout.Įxcept for the handprint at lower left. In a footnote in 'The Declaration of Independence: A Study in the History of Political Ideas' by Carl Lotus Becker, published 1922, we learn: The Rough Draft reads ' inherent & inalienable.' There is no indication that Congress changed 'inalienable' to 'unalienable' but the latter form appears in the text in the rough Journal, in the. The Committee of Five drafted the declaration to be ready when Congress voted on independence. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Thomas Jefferson,1743,1826,reading rough draft of Declaration of Independence at the best. This Declaration committee operated from June 11,1776 until July 5, 1776, the. Ratified on July 4, 1776, the document was authored by Thomas Jefferson and signed by 56 delegates of the Continental Congress. Livingston of New York, and Roger Sherman of Connecticut, to draft a declaration. Most are familiar with the signed, engrossed copy of the Declaration of Independence shown above.
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