Thomas Jefferson worked on his draft for 17 days during his time at the Continental Congress. The draft was to be ready in case enough of the representatives ultimately agreed on the need for such a document.

Jefferson’s original draft was just a little different than the one finally adopted. This paragraph is interesting and better than my first draft would have been.

”We hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable; that all men are created equal and independent, that from equal creation they derive rights inherent and inalienable, among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

Compare this with the Declaration of Independence adopted by Congress, after some fine tuning with the help of John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Robert Livingston.

What a committee!