Realizing the importance of the writing of the Declaration of Independence for the American Revolution and posterity, Thomas Jefferson prepared his Notes of Proceedings in Congress, June 7–August 1, 1776. He included a copy of the Declaration as it was presented to Congress on June 28 and amended by them in the days leading up to its final approval by Congress on July 4, 1776. In 1781, James Madison asked Jefferson for his account of those tumultuous and pivotal days, and Jefferson sent him these “notes.”