<P> Support for a Congressional declaration of independence was consolidated in the final weeks of June 1776 . On June 14, the Connecticut Assembly instructed its delegates to propose independence and, the following day, the legislatures of New Hampshire and Delaware authorized their delegates to declare independence . In Pennsylvania, political struggles ended with the dissolution of the colonial assembly, and a new Conference of Committees under Thomas McKean authorized Pennsylvania's delegates to declare independence on June 18 . The Provincial Congress of New Jersey had been governing the province since January 1776; they resolved on June 15 that Royal Governor William Franklin was "an enemy to the liberties of this country" and had him arrested . On June 21, they chose new delegates to Congress and empowered them to join in a declaration of independence . </P> <P> Only Maryland and New York had yet to authorize independence towards the end of June . Previously, Maryland's delegates had walked out when the Continental Congress adopted Adams's radical May 15 preamble, and had sent to the Annapolis Convention for instructions . On May 20, the Annapolis Convention rejected Adams's preamble, instructing its delegates to remain against independence . But Samuel Chase went to Maryland and, thanks to local resolutions in favor of independence, was able to get the Annapolis Convention to change its mind on June 28 . Only the New York delegates were unable to get revised instructions . When Congress had been considering the resolution of independence on June 8, the New York Provincial Congress told the delegates to wait . But on June 30, the Provincial Congress evacuated New York as British forces approached, and would not convene again until July 10 . This meant that New York's delegates would not be authorized to declare independence until after Congress had made its decision . </P> <P> Political maneuvering was setting the stage for an official declaration of independence even while a document was being written to explain the decision . On June 11, 1776, Congress appointed a "Committee of Five" to draft a declaration, consisting of John Adams of Massachusetts, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, Robert R. Livingston of New York, and Roger Sherman of Connecticut . The committee left no minutes, so there is some uncertainty about how the drafting process proceeded; contradictory accounts were written many years later by Jefferson and Adams, too many years to be regarded as entirely reliable--although their accounts are frequently cited . What is certain is that the committee discussed the general outline which the document should follow and decided that Jefferson would write the first draft . The committee in general, and Jefferson in particular, thought that Adams should write the document, but Adams persuaded the committee to choose Jefferson and promised to consult with him personally . Considering Congress's busy schedule, Jefferson probably had limited time for writing over the next seventeen days, and likely wrote the draft quickly . He then consulted the others and made some changes, and then produced another copy incorporating these alterations . The committee presented this copy to the Congress on June 28, 1776 . The title of the document was "A Declaration by the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress assembled ." </P> <P> Congress ordered that the draft "lie on the table". For two days, Congress methodically edited Jefferson's primary document, shortening it by a fourth, removing unnecessary wording, and improving sentence structure . They removed Jefferson's assertion that Britain had forced slavery on the colonies in order to moderate the document and appease persons in Britain who supported the Revolution . Jefferson wrote that Congress had "mangled" his draft version, but the Declaration that was finally produced was "the majestic document that inspired both contemporaries and posterity," in the words of his biographer John Ferling . </P>

Who led the debate which ratified the declaration of independence