Five-Member Committee

Definition

The Five-Member Committee was a group of five men appointed by the Second Continental Congress in 1776 to draft the Declaration of Independence.

Analogy

Think of the Five-Member Committee as a group project team in your class, assigned with the task of creating an important presentation. Just like how each member contributes their ideas and skills to make the presentation successful, each member of this committee contributed their knowledge and expertise to draft one of America's most significant documents.

Related terms

Second Continental Congress: This was a convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that started meeting in 1775, during the American Revolution. It succeeded the First Continental Congress.

Declaration of Independence: This is an important document that announced and explained why thirteen colonies at war with Great Britain regarded themselves as thirteen independent sovereign states, no longer under British rule.

Thomas Jefferson: He was one of the members on this committee who is credited as being its primary author. He later became America's third president.