Season 3, Episode 11 | Not Just Jefferson: How Congress's Red Pen Helped Create the Declaration We Know

Who really wrote the Declaration of Independence? Was it Thomas Jefferson’s carefully crafted vision, or the outcome of an intense, compromise-driven process inside Congress?In this episode of This Constitution, host Savannah Eccles Johnston is joined by Matthew Brogdon to examine how Congress transformed Thomas Jefferson’s original draft of the Declaration of Independence into the document the world would come to know.The conversation traces the Declaration’s path from the Committee of Five to the Committee of the Whole, where Congress cut a quarter of Jefferson’s draft. Savannah and Matthew unpack the most significant changes, including the removal of the slavery passage, the shift from emotionally charged rhetoric to a more legal tone, and the deliberate decision to aim grievances at the Crown rather than the British people. These revisions, they argue, were driven by prudence, diplomacy, and the need to persuade both domestic and foreign audiences.The episode also highlights Congress’s surprising additions. References to divine providence and a Supreme Judge of the world were strengthened, shaping a civil religious language that would echo throughout American political life. In the end, Savannah and Matthew argue that while Jefferson’s genius is undeniable, the Declaration is best understood as Congress’s declaration. It is a democratic document, forged through collaboration, compromise, and representation, and a model for how Americans would speak and govern themselves from the very beginning.In This Episode(00:00) Opening and introduction(00:17) Background to the Declaration(01:00) Drafting and committee process(02:12) Congressional revision process(03:23) Major edits and reactions(04:34) Removal of the slave passage(06:57) Strengthening legal arguments(07:31) Toning down emotional language(08:30) Example of emotional language removed(10:41) Toning down anti-British rhetoric(12:06) Example of anti-British language removed(15:07) Summary of major changes(15:17) Addition of religious language(16:22) Significance of religious additions(20:27) Motivations for religious language(20:45) Is Congress’s version better?(23:00) Examples of improved rhetoric(25:00) The Declaration as a collaborative product(26:44) Conclusion and podcast outroNotable Quotes(04:25) “25% Congress slashes and burns. I mean, they took a red pen to the thing.” — Matthew Brogdon(01:34) "So this wasn't just Jefferson's hand. You know, it wasn't like Jefferson the author. Everybody else is a clerk. There's actually quite a lot of collaboration." — Matthew Brogdon(07:32) “By making it more legally efficacious, some of that means making the document a little more boring.” — Matthew Brogdon(08:07) "Adam says he defended every word of the draft like he didn't want to see any of this change, as though he grudgingly admits to Abigail later that maybe some of this was prudent, making this less personal, less antagonistic." — Matthew Brogdon(14:10) “The road to glory and happiness is open to us too. We will climb it in a separate state and acquiesce in the necessity which pronounces our everlasting adieu." — Matthew Brogdon(22:41) "All the changes seem to be for the better." — Savannah Eccles Johnston(25:05) "Yes, Jefferson is the primary author of the declaration, but it's actually Congress's declaration." — Savannah Eccles Johnston(26:30) “I think the best way to sum this up is with the title of the declaration itself.” — Matthew Brogdon(26:42) "It's Congress's declaration. It's not the committee's, and it's not Jefferson's. It's not Adams's. It's Congress's declaration speaking for the United States of America." — Matthew Brogdon