Description
During the War for Independence a provisional government of the Thirteen Colonies was created to oversee the war. After exhausting efforts for reconciliation, the 2nd Continental Congress met in Philadelphia in 1775 deciding to declare independence. Thomas Jefferson wrote the rough draft but Congress did not accept it. Delegates debated, edited and removed 30% of Jefferson’s draft. Where did the ideas for the declaration come from? What were the changes that the delegates made to the draft? The edits transformed Jefferson’s draft into a unified, diplomatic and globally persuasive statement.
