Question 78 of 128 · American History · Colonial Period and Independence
Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?
On the 65/20 list: one of the 20 questions for applicants 65 or older with 20 years as permanent residents.
Accepted answer
- (Thomas) Jefferson
Why this is the answer
Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence in 1776. The Second Continental Congress asked him and a small committee to draft it; Jefferson wrote the text, the committee reviewed it, and Congress adopted it on July 4. The ideas he put in it, that all people are created equal and are born with rights, are the ones the country still measures itself against. Jefferson later became the third President. Memory hook: Jefferson wrote the Declaration; Madison is the one called the Father of the Constitution.