Declaration of Independence [manuscript copy by Thomas Jefferson, 1776]
![Declaration of Independence [manuscript copy by Thomas Jefferson, 1776]](/database/images/declaration_1_ref.jpg "Declaration of Independence [manuscript copy by Thomas Jefferson, 1776]")
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Choose an alternate description of this item written for these projects:
- Witness to America's Past
- MHS Collecting History
- MHS 225th Anniversary
- Main description
This manuscript copy of the Declaration of Independence, one of several in Jefferson's hand, represents the Declaration as drafted by the Committee of Five. This copy is comprised of 4 pages; pages 3 and 4 are fragments only. This copy is sometimes referred to as the "Washburn Copy of the Declaration of Independence" since it was given to the Massachusetts Historical Society by Mr. and Mrs. Arthur C. Washburn in 1893.