How Did Thomas Jefferson Rough Draft The Declaration Of Independence

Thomas Jefferson was instrumental in helping to create and establish the new government in America. People usually remember Jefferson as the third president of the United States and the drafter of the Declaration of Independence; however, Jefferson also had a prosperous political career between the times of these two events. Between 1775 and 1789, Thomas Jefferson held multiple political roles in the new country, including working in both the legislative and executive branches of state government and acting as Ambassador to France. Thomas Jefferson’s well-rounded and thorough education made him knowledgeable in many areas, which made him the ideal person to write the Declaration of Independence. Lee Wilkins and R.B. Bernstein agree that Jefferson’s

Jefferson spent the next seventeen days writing the rough draft of the document before submitting it to the rest of the committee and then presenting it to the Second Continental Congress. Bernstein states that only Franklin and Adams made significant edits to the draft, while the Congress made numerous changes, offending Jefferson by cutting out sections he believed to be vital parts of the document (Bernstein 31-33). The actual rough draft demonstrates the edits Franklin and Adams made, showing that some phrases were changed to become phrases that are well-known today, such as the change from “We hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable; that all men are created equal and independent…” to “We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal…” (Rough Draft of Declaration of Independence). On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress officially approved the Declaration of Independence that is known today (Bernstein

The Continental Congress was in the process of writing a Constitution for the new nation. Madison sent Jefferson a copy of the proposed Constitution, and Jefferson wrote back that he agreed with a three-branch government system with checks and balances, but believed that the Constitution was in need of a bill of rights (Wilkins 603-604). Bernstein also discusses Jefferson’s assertion for a bill of rights which was further supported by other prominent politicians, including James Monroe (Bernstein 72-74). Eventually, Madison argued Jefferson’s belief in front of the Continental Congress and the bill of rights was added (Wilkins 605). Madison also worked to pass Jefferson’s Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom while Jefferson was working in France. However, a conservative group in Virginia led by Patrick Henry opposed the reform and pushed a bill to pay ministers in order to gain support. When Henry’s bill backfired, Madison took the opportunity to put Jefferson’s religious freedom reform into action, and it was passed after some edits were made (Bernstein 68-69). In 1790, Jefferson returned to America to continue his political career, which would lead him to the presidency eleven years later