Declaration of Independence - 2nd Page of Manuscript

This is the second page of the Declaration’s manuscript, which Thomas Jefferson later called “the original Rough draught.”

According to the Library of Congress:

This copy of the Declaration represents the fair copy that the committee presented to Congress. Jefferson noted that ‘the parts struck out by Congress shall be distinguished by a black line drawn under them, & those inserted by them shall be placed in the margin or in a concurrent column.’

Reviewing the four pages of the original draft, we get a sense of the evolution of the text as it moved from Jefferson, to the committee and then to all the delegates.

Click on the image to substantially increase its size.

See, also:

Declaration of Independence, Original Draft - Page 1

Declaration of Independence, Original Draft - Page 3

Declaration of Independence, Original Draft - Page 4

Vote of the Colonies to Declare Independence