John Adams's Handwritten Copy of the Declaration of Independence
Declaration of Independence, manuscript copy by John Adams, before 28 June 1776
John Adams made this copy of the Declaration of Independence while revisions of Thomas Jefferson's draft were still in progress. Adams and Jefferson, along with Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston made up the Committee of Five appointed by Congress to draft the Declaration. It is likely that Jefferson showed his draft first to Adams, when Adams made this copy, and then to Franklin before he presented it to the entire committee. This copy is extremely important for demonstrating the evolution of the text from Jefferson's original rough draft, which exists now only as a much marked-up document, to the Declaration known today.
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