Jefferson gets the acclaim for independence, but it was another Virginian who first proposed a formal break from Britain

Jefferson gets the acclaim for independence, but it was another Virginian who first proposed a formal break from Britain

This week marks the 250th anniversary of American independence. To mark that, I’ll have a series of 250th-themed columns this week. The words were Thomas Jefferson’s — well, mostly. Jefferson won the acclaim, the presidency and the legacy. We put his face on our money, his name on a memorial, his work in our history books. It is impossible to think of the Declaration of Independence without thinking of Jefferson. The act of declaring independenc…