Abstract

This article treats the editing that the Second Continental Congress did on Thomas Jefferson's draft of the Declaration of Independence. The superb editing helped make Jefferson an American icon, but Jefferson resented the editing for the rest of his life. Professor Abrams authors a column, Writing it Right, in Precedent, The Missouri Bar's quarterly magazine. In a variety of contexts, the column stresses the fundamentals of quality legal writing - precision, conciseness, simplicity and clarity.