Congress debated the Virginia independence resolution before revisiting the Declaration draft

Evidence

Without stopping to celebrate, no sooner had the delegates proclaimed independence than Congress resumed meeting as a committee of the whole to consider the draft document from Jefferson’s committee declaring the causes that impelled the separation. Before those deliberations began, New Hampshire’s Josiah Bartlett graded the committee draft as “a pretty good one,” but revisions by Congress made it better. The process took two days. While retaining the eloquent tone and tri-part structure of Jefferson’s original draft, Congress cut or changed more than one-fourth of its text, mainly by sharpening the listed grievances against the king and reworking the final paragraph. — Edward J. Larson, Declaring Independence, 222 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Congress debated an already-formed independence resolution from Virginia — Edward J. Larson, Declaring Independence, 206; Congress revised more than a quarter of Jefferson’s draft over two days of debate — Edward J. Larson, Declaring Independence, 222; Congress deferred the Declaration text until the independence resolution passed.

Broader Connections

• Congress deferred the Declaration text until the independence resolution passed. #contradicts (0.90)
• Congress revised more than a quarter of Jefferson’s draft over two days of debate #expands (0.85) — Edward J. Larson, Declaring Independence, 222