Rare Jefferson draft of Declaration of Independence goes on display

A rare June 1776 draft of the Declaration of Independence, covered in edits from Benjamin Franklin and John Adams, went on display July 3 at the Library of Congress. The manuscript, Thomas Jefferson’s original “rough draught,” is the centerpiece of the institution’s new semiquincentennial exhibition, The Declaration’s Promise: A Revolutionary Idea, in the Treasures Gallery of the Thomas Jefferson Building in Washington, D.C.

Jefferson’s draft shows the text before the Committee of Five and the United States Congress completed their revisions. The draft traces the shift from Jefferson’s initial composition to the final version adopted by Congress on the morning of July 4, 1776. Ryan Reft, a curator and historian with the library, said the document reveals the Declaration’s evolution and the collective shaping of its language, including Jefferson’s change from “subjects” to “citizens.”

The exhibition includes 121 items and follows the Declaration’s principles across 250 years of American history. It centers on self-government, natural rights, and equality. The Declaration committee was appointed by Congress on June 11, 1776, to draft the document that would become the nation’s most enduring political statement.

Alongside Jefferson’s draft, the exhibition brings together the first newspaper printing of the Declaration of Independence, the Aitken Bible, John Quincy Adams’ Amistad arguments, Frederick Douglass’ speech on “The Meaning of July Fourth,” Walt Whitman materials, and Abraham Lincoln’s handwritten Gettysburg Address.

Timed tickets were being offered for visitors because of expected demand. The exhibition is scheduled to remain on view through July 3, 2027.