Richard Henry Lee

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Richard Henry Lee (1732 – June 19, 1794) was an American statesman and Founding Father from Virginia best known for the Lee Resolution in the Second Continental Congress, which called for the colonies' independence from Great Britain, which was followed by the United States Declaration of Independence, which he signed.

He served as President of the Continental Congress for one year as the third president pro tempore of Virginia from 1789 to 1792. He was a member of the Lee family, a historically influential family in Virginia politics.

Early life and education

Lee was born in Westmoreland, Virginia, to Colonel Thomas Lee and Hannah Harrison Ludwell Lee on January 20, 1732. He came from a long line of military officers, diplomat, and legislators. Before his death in 1750, his father was the governor of Virginia. Lee spent the majority of his childhood in Stratford, Virginia, at Stratford Hall. He was tutored and taught in a variety of occupations here. Lee's father sent him around to neighboring planters with the intention of him becoming identified with neighboring men of like fame in order to advance his political career. Lee left Virginia for Yorkshire, England, in 1748, to complete his formal education at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield. Both of his parents died in 1750. After touring Europe in 1753, he returned to Virginia to assist his brothers in settling the estate that his parents had left behind.

Personal life and family

Hannah Harrison Ludwell, Lee's mother, died in 1750. He married Anne Aylett, William Aylett's daughter. Anne died on December 12, 1768. The couple had six children, four of whom survived infancy. In June or July 1769, Lee remarried to Anne (Gaskins) Pinckard. The couple had seven children, five of whom survived infancy.

By naming one of his sons after him, Lee paid tribute to his brother, Francis Lightfoot Lee (another signer of the Articles of Confederation and the Declaration of Independence).

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Career

Lee was appointed justice of the peace of Westmoreland County in 1757. He was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1758, where he encountered Patrick Henry. Lee was one of the first to establish Committees of correspondence among the many free-minded Americans in the various colonies. Lee is credited with authoring the Westmoreland Resolution in 1766, nearly ten years before the American Revolutionary War, which was officially signed by prominent landowners who met at Leedstown, Virginia, on February 27, 1766. Four brothers of George Washington were among the signers.

Lee was elected a delegate to the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia in August 1774. Lee proposed a motion to the Continental Congress to declare independence from Great Britain in Lee's Resolution on June 7, 1776, which reads in part (in part):

By the time Congress voted on and adopted the Declaration of Independence, Lee had returned to Virginia, but when he returned to Congress, he signed the document.

In the French Arms Tavern, Trenton, New Jersey, Lee was elected sixth president of Congress under the Articles of Confederation on November 30, 1784. Congress reconvenesd in the old New York City Hall on January 11, 1785, with Lee as the president until November 23, 1785. Although he was not earning a salary, his household bills were paid in the amount of $12,203.13.

Lee dismissed the prospect of levying federal taxes and believed that borrowing foreign currency was irresponsible. Throughout his tenure, he maintained that the states should relinquish their claims in the Northwest Territory, allowing the federal government to fund its obligations by land sales. Samuel Adams, a friend and colleague, wrote to him: "I wrote to him and colleague Samuel Adams, a friend and colleague.

On April 14, the Land Ordinance of 1784 and Thomas Jefferson's survey method began; specifically, "hundreds of ten geographical miles square, each mile containing 6086 and 4-10ths of a foot" and "subdivided into lots of one mile square each, or 850 and 4-10ths of an acre." William Grayson of Virginia, seconded by James Monroe, made a motion on May 3, 1785 to change "seven miles square" to "six miles square."

On May 20, 1785, the Land Ordinance was passed in 1785, but the federal government did not have the funds to manage the newly surveyed lands. Native Americans didn't refuse to relinquish their squabbled lands on the platted territory, but squatters took over a large portion of the remaining land. Lee's proposal died, but the survey system that was devised under the Land Ordinance of 1785 has survived, with Congress being unable to persuade magistrates or troops to enforce the dollar-per-acre title fee.

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