A look at the group of the five delegates from five colonies—John Adams of Massachusetts, Roger Sherman of Connecticut, Robert Livingston of New York, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, and Thomas Jefferson of Virginia—selected to write and edit this important document; known as the Committee of Five.
Listen to what one historian hailed as "the most extraordinarily interesting document in American history": Jefferson's Rough Draft of the Declaration of Independence. In this edition, we offer the final version and Jefferson's draft which includes a different "We hold these truths . . . " statement as well as a biting condemnation of the slave trade. Bill Barker, who interprets Thomas Jefferson for Colonial Williamsburg, reads both (added to Monticello Podcasts on December 28, 2005; approx. 9 min. and 12 min., resp.).
Monticello guide Ariel Armenta on the Declaration of Independence
Learn more about what this document meant, what made it revolutionary, and how successive generations have sought to realize the promise of its ringing words.
What did signing the Declaration mean to Jefferson?
Prior to serving as the U.S. Secretary of State, Colin Powell spoke about the Declaration of Independence at Monticello on July 4, 1997.
Mr. Jefferson, interpreted by Monticello's Bill Barker, discusses the events leading up to and prompting the Declaration of Independence.
Historian Niya Bates discusses the struggles by descendants of Monticello's enslaved community to make real the promises of the Declaration of Independence.
Legacies of the Declaration of Independence with Bill Barker
