Who Wrote the Declaration of Independence?
Richard Henry Lee
Jefferson, Franklin, Adams, Livingston, and Sherman presenting the draft of the Declaration of Independence to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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Richard Henry Lee played a very important role in the creation of the Declaration of Independence. Richard Henry Lee was a delegate to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia. (A delegate is an elected representative.) The Second Continental Congress began on May 10, 1775 and was a congress made up of delegates or representatives. These delegates held meetings to come with the complains the American colonies had with the British. It wasn't until June 7, 1776 when Richard Henry Lee proposed that the 13 American colonies should declare themselves free of British rule. Richard Henry Lee and the Congress asked a group of five men to create a draft for this resolution. These men were: Thomas Jefferson (the main writer), Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Robert R. Livingston, and Roger Sherman. It took them 17 days to come up with a draft. The Congress debated the resolution for two days and then the Declaration of Independence was passed on July 4, 1776.
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