<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 most of the declaration of independance
Thomas Jefferson