life liberty and the pursuit of happiness who said it

The phrase “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” is most famously attributed to Thomas Jefferson , who wrote it into the preamble of the United States Declaration of Independence in 1776.

Who actually said it?

• The exact wording “life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” appears in the Declaration of Independence, drafted primarily by Thomas Jefferson and adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776.

• While the document was a collective product, the phrase is generally credited to Jefferson as its author, with some input and edits from figures like John Adams and Benjamin Franklin.

Earlier ideas behind the phrase

• Jefferson drew on earlier Enlightenment thinkers, especially John Locke, who wrote about natural rights to “life, liberty, and estate (property),” which Jefferson adapted into “pursuit of happiness.”

• The broader concept of natural rights and happiness also appears in other 18th‑century legal and philosophical works, such as William Blackstone’s “Commentaries on the Laws of England,” which connected law, justice, and individual happiness.

Why the wording matters

• The phrase signals that government exists to secure unalienable rights—among them the right to live, to be free, and to actively seek one’s own happiness as one understands it.

• By choosing “pursuit of happiness” rather than “property,” the Declaration places moral and personal flourishing at the center of the American political ideal, not just material ownership.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.