How did they decide what to write for the Declaration of Independence?

Answer 1

The Declaration of Independence was penned at the First Continental Congress. The Congress had no legal power; rather, it was a convention of the brightest--and most passionate--minds in colonial America. The ideas of the Declaration came from the spirit of the times and influences such as Paine's Common Sense, Greek examples of Republicanism, and the political philosophies of John Locke and Thomas Hobbes. Major contributors to the ideas were John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson, along with Gouverneur Morris, styled the prose. Morris is considered responsible for the Preamble, while the list of grievances was Jefferson's brainchild.

It is important to understand that the writers of the Declaration were a minority. Most people did not want to break from Britain (Loyalists), or were ambivalent. In fact, Americans were worse off after the war than before it, especially economically.