<P> The Declaration was passed on July 2 with no opposing votes . A committee of five had drafted it to be ready when Congress voted on independence . John Adams , a leader in pushing for independence , had persuaded the committee to select Thomas Jefferson to compose the original draft of the document , which Congress edited to produce the final version . The Declaration was a formal explanation of why Congress had voted on July 2 to declare independence from Great Britain , more than a year after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War . Adams wrote to his wife Abigail , `` The Second Day of July 1776 , will be the most memorable Epocha , in the History of America '' -- although Independence Day is actually celebrated on July 4 , the date that the wording of the Declaration of Independence was approved . </P>
<P> The Declaration was passed on July 2 with no opposing votes . A committee of five had drafted it to be ready when Congress voted on independence . John Adams , a leader in pushing for independence , had persuaded the committee to select Thomas Jefferson to compose the original draft of the document , which Congress edited to produce the final version . The Declaration was a formal explanation of why Congress had voted on July 2 to declare independence from Great Britain , more than a year after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War . Adams wrote to his wife Abigail , `` The Second Day of July 1776 , will be the most memorable Epocha , in the History of America '' -- although Independence Day is actually celebrated on July 4 , the date that the wording of the Declaration of Independence was approved . </P>
who wrote the declaration of independence and when was it ratified by the 2nd continental congress
who wrote the declaration of independence and when was it ratified by the 2nd continental congress
Thomas Jefferson on July 2
Thomas Jefferson on July 2