The 'Committee of Five' was the group delegated by the
Second Continental Congress on
June 11,
1776 to draft the
United States Declaration of Independence.
Sherman, Franklin, Jefferson, Adams, and Livingston.
Members
The Committee of Five presenting their work to the Congress. Painting by
John Trumbull.
The committee consisted of:
★
John Adams of
Massachusetts
★
Benjamin Franklin of
Pennsylvania
★
Thomas Jefferson of
Virginia
★
Robert R. Livingston of
New York
★
Roger Sherman of
Connecticut
Deliberations
According to Jefferson:
"The Committee of 5 met, no such thing as a sub-committee was proposed, but they unanimously pressed on myself alone to undertake the draught. I consented; I drew it; but before I reported it to the committee I communicated it separately to Dr. Franklin and Mr. Adams requesting their corrections;. . . Their alterations were two or three only, and merely verbal. I then wrote a fair copy, reported it to the committee, and from them, unaltered to the Congress."
[1]
See also
★
Founding Fathers of the United States
★
History of the United States
Notes
1. Letter to James Madison, August 30, 1823. ''The Writings of Thomas Jefferson''
External links
★
Declaration of Independence at the National Archives website.
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