RICHARD HENRY LEE

Westmoreland County, Virginia
January 20, 1732–June 19, 1794
An Underappreciated Radical

Richard H. Lee was one of the first to say out loud what most of the delegates to the Second Continental Congress were thinking: Let us seek independence from Britain and form our own country. Years later, he wrote the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to protect states’ rights under a federal government. He did not always say a lot in the legislative bodies in which he served, but when he did speak or write, the results were meaningful—and are still being felt today. Yet history books seldom assign significant importance to his contributions to the patriots’ cause.

Silent Lee

As a young man, Richard Henry Lee attended a private school in England, and then stayed in Europe for a couple years after he finished his studies. He did not show much interest in a profession when he returned to Virginia in 1751, being content to stay around the family plantation and dabble in whatever interested him. But he could not lead a life of leisure forever.

A few years after Lee returned to Virginia, the French and Indian War broke out. He organized a group of young men living in his neighborhood into a militia troop and they elected him the leader of the pack. The militia marched off to Alexandria, Virginia, to offer their service to General Edward Braddock, who was preparing for a campaign on the Ohio River. Braddock said “No, thanks” and sent them home. That ended Lee’s military career.

Quotations to Live (and Die) By!

“TO PRESERVE LIBERTY IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT THE WHOLE BODY OF PEOPLE ALWAYS POSSESS ARMS AND BE TAUGHT ALIKE, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOUNG, HOW TO USE THEM.”

—RICHARD HENRY LEE

However, his political career was just beginning. The people of Westmoreland County were not willing to let a good Lee go to waste. He was appointed to a position as justice of the peace in 1757. Lee was also elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses that year. He did not leave the House until 1775.

Listen, Learn—and Then Act

Lee did not impress anybody at the House of Burgesses right away. He was standoffish and quiet. Lee occasionally displayed strong oratorical skills, but it was a few years before he got involved fully in the Burgesses’ businesses. Once he did, there was no holding him back.

When Patrick Henry introduced his resolves against the Stamp Act in 1765, Lee supported them vigorously. As opposition to Britain’s increasing tax levies on the colonies grew in the mid-1700s, Lee became more outspoken. By 1774, he felt the time for talking had ended. He wanted independence.

In 1774 Virginia’s Royal Governor Lord Dunmore dissolved the House of Burgesses that met in Williamsburg. That displeased a group of radical members of the House. They moved to the nearby Raleigh Tavern and began planning their next step. The sometimes diffident Richard Lee was among them.

Lee was elected to the First Continental Congress in 1774. He had an advantage over other congressional members, since his brother
William—an American spy who was living in England, serving as the sheriff of London, and campaigning for a seat in Parliament—told him what Britain planned to do.

At the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia, Lee introduced motions for independence, foreign alliances, and a union of American states on June 7, 1776. Very few people know that it was he, not Thomas Jefferson, who authored the resolution.

Quotations to Live (and Die) By!

“RESOLVED, THAT THESE UNITED COLONIES ARE, AND OF RIGHT OUGHT TO BE, FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES, THAT THEY ARE ABSOLVED FROM ALL ALLEGIANCE TO THE BRITISH CROWN, AND THAT ALL POLITICAL CONNECTION BETWEEN THEM AND THE STATE OF GREAT BRITAIN IS, AND OUGHT TO BE TOTALLY DISSOLVED …”

—RICHARD LEE’S RESOLUTION FOR INDEPENDENCE AT THE SECOND CONTINENTAL CONGRESS

Shortly thereafter, the Congress began discussions about his resolution, which included two other parts: a call to form foreign alliances and a call to submit a plan of confederation for ratification by the colonies. The members followed his advice, which led to the signing of the Declaration of Independence two months later. Lee’s work was almost done.

Not a Washington Fan

Lee served in Congress during the Revolutionary War. At one point he locked horns with George Washington over his military leadership, especially after the Battles of Brandywine and Germantown in Pennsylvania, in which the American troops performed poorly. Lee was also critical of Silas Deane and Benjamin Franklin for their alleged mishandling of foreign affairs.

FEDERAL FACTS

Richard Lee’s brother, Francis Lightfoot, also signed the Declaration of Independence.

Washington was not pleased with the criticism, especially from a fellow Virginian. The affair blew over, and Washington and Lee moved on.

Quotations to Live (and Die) By!

“TO SUM UP THE WHOLE, I HAVE BEEN A SLAVE TO THE SERVICE: I HAVE UNDERGONE MORE THAN MOST MEN ARE AWARE OF, TO HARMONIZE SO MANY DISCORDANT PARTS; BUT IT WILL BE IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO BE OF ANY FURTHER SERVICE, IF SUCH INSUPERABLE DIFFICULTIES ARE THROWN IN MY WAY.”

—GEORGE WASHINGTON IN AN OCTOBER 17, 1777, LETTER TO RICHARD HENRY LEE

Preserving States’ Rights

Lee continued to serve in the Virginia House of Burgesses and the Continental Congress after the war ended. If there was one thing Richard Henry Lee was adamant about, it was states’ rights over a strong federal government. Consequently, he was concerned that the new U.S. Constitution being written in the late 1780s would favor a strong federal government.

As a U.S. senator (elected in 1789), he wanted to ensure that the individual states reserved at least some rights. Therefore, he wrote an amendment to the U.S. Constitution, one of ten that became collectively known as the Bill of Rights. The Tenth Amendment was his final big moment on the political stage. The Bill of Rights was adopted by the House of Representatives on August 21, 1789. Lee retired from the Senate three years later because of ill health.

Quotations to Live (and Die) By!

“THE POWERS NOT DELEGATED TO THE UNITED STATES BY THE CONSTITUTION, NOR PROHIBITED BY IT TO THE STATES, ARE RESERVED TO THE STATES RESPECTIVELY, OR TO THE PEOPLE.”

—TENTH AMENDMENT TO THE U.S. CONSTITUTION

REVOLUTIONARY REVELATIONS

Richard Henry Lee was Confederate Civil War General Robert E. Lee’s grandfather.

Richard Henry Lee completed his journey from diffidence to resolution in 1794; two of his resolutions, years apart, had a significant impact on the history of the United States.