<P> "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" is a well - known phrase in the United States Declaration of Independence . The phrase gives three examples of the "unalienable rights" which the Declaration says have been given to all human beings by their Creator, and which governments are created to protect . </P> <P> The United States Declaration of Independence was drafted by Thomas Jefferson, and then edited by the Committee of Five, which consisted of Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston . It was then further edited and adopted by the Committee of the Whole of the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776 . The second paragraph of the first article in the Declaration of Independence contains the phrase "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness". </P> <P> Jefferson's "original Rough draught" is on exhibit in the Library of Congress . This version was used by Julian Boyd to create a transcript of Jefferson's draft, which reads: </P>

When was life liberty and the pursuit of happiness written