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THIS DAY IN HISTORY
Commemorating the Formation of the Committee of Five

On June 11, 1776—250 years ago today—the Second Continental Congress appointed five men<[link removed]> to draft the document that would formally declare the American colonies’ independence from British rule. Known as the Committee of Five, its members were Thomas Jefferson (Virginia), John Adams (Massachusetts), Benjamin Franklin (Pennsylvania), Roger Sherman (Connecticut), and Robert Livingston (New York).
These patriots later became the focal point of John Trumbull’s iconic painting<[link removed]>, Declaration of Independence (1818), which depicts the presentation of the draft to Congress.

While the committee collaborated, Thomas Jefferson emerged as the primary author. Decades later, Adams and Jefferson offered differing recollections of how the task was assigned.
In an August 6, 1822 letter<[link removed]> to Timothy Pickering, Adams recalled that he and Jefferson formed a subcommittee, and that Jefferson initially proposed Adams write it. Adams declined, citing Jefferson’s Virginia origins, greater popularity, and superior writing talent. In an August 30, 1823 letter<[link removed]> to James Madison, Jefferson countered that the full committee unanimously pressed him alone to undertake the draft.

The Committee of Five submitted its draft to Congress on June 28, 1776. Congress then engaged in debate and revision<[link removed]>, removing roughly one-quarter of the original text—including Jefferson’s strong condemnation<[link removed]> of the slave trade—while making other edits for unity and clarity. Congress approved the final version the afternoon of July 4, 1776.
When General George Washington had the Declaration read aloud to his troops<[link removed]> in New York City on July 9, the words inspired such fervor that soldiers and citizens marched to Bowling Green and toppled the equestrian statue of King George III, later melting it for musket balls.

The Declaration’s<[link removed]> closing words—“with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence”—were present in the committee’s draft and retained in the final document.

As we mark this 250th anniversary, let us remember the wisdom and fortitude of the Committee of Five. They risked everything for the principles of self-government, natural rights, and liberty under God. In our own time, those same ideals call us to vigilance, unity, and resolve.
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