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JEFFERSON'S AUTHORSHIP OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
>I only take issue with the statement "It took only one man to write the D. of >I." >Five men wrote the D. of I. -- >Jefferson was but an equal contributor and the great synthesiser of this >work-- >I will leave you to figure out the rest -- Did I make that statement? I don't recall doing so, and would appreciate your indicating where I said that. Nevertheless, that statement is at least partially defensible -- much more defensible than your own statements. Jefferson did indeed write the Declaration of Independence, and he worked alone. I believe there was some preliminary discussion of what it should contain. And after it was written, Franklin and Adams made some very minor revisions -- a word or two -- but that was all. Congress, of course, made some MAJOR revisions, mostly in the form of cuts, though very little change to the Prologue, which is the real meat of the Declaration. But to say that Jefferson was only an EQUAL contributor is a gross underevaluation. Just about every written work that is ever published is subjected to some degree of editing, yet no one would suggest that the editors of a published work are "equal contributors" with the author. Jefferson is just as much the author of the Declaration of Independence as is any other author of any other published work. In "figuring out the rest," I find your statements grossly inaccurate. Best wishes, Eyler Coates