Richard Henry Lee
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First Lady: Ann Aglett; second wife Anne Pinckard
Party: Vice President : Cabinet: Born : 20 Jan 1732, Stratford Westmoreland County, Virginia Died: 19 Jun 1794, Chantilly Westmoreland County, Virginia Buried : St. Mary's Protestant Episcopal Church Cemetery West Broad Street Burlington, New Jersey Parents: Thomas and Hannah Ludwell Lee Married : Ann Aglett; second wife Anne Pinckard Children : 9 In Office : 1784-1785 Education: Private school at Wakefield, Yorkshire, England. Other Political Offices : Justice of the peace, 1757 Virginia House of Burgesses, 1757 Continental Congress, 1774 First US Senator for Virginia, 1789. He was one of the first persons to introduce a system of inter-colonial committees. These committees were set up check on the activities of the colonies against the British. They led to the forming of the First Continental Congress, with Virginia appointing Richard Henry Lee, Patrick Henry, and George Washington. He followed the footsteps of his family, entered the Virginia House of Burgesses at the age of 25. Henry was the oldest of four boys and was educated by private tutoring at his family home. He attended Wakefield Academy in England and returned to Virginia in 1751. He remained in congress until 1779 until retiring from congress in 1779 due to ill health. On his return home to Virginia he was elected to the Virginia Legislature. One of the critics of federalism, Lee participated in the Virginia convention which ratified the Federal Constitution (1788). He was against the Stamp Act in Virginia (1765) and introduced the motion that led to the Declaration of Independence (1776). He became a close partner of Samuel Adams and served as floor manager for the cause of freedom. In the spring of 1776, Richard Henry, now joined by his brother Francis Lightfoot, took his seat in the second Continental Congress. Richard Henry served on 18 different committees - none as important as his appointment to frame the Declaration of Rights of the Colonies, which led to the writing of the Declaration of Independence. He was amongst those radical members of the Burgesses who met at the Raleigh tavern when the house was dissolved by the Royal Governor. He served in Congress through the course of the War, while also serving in the House of Burgesses. Lee was a member of the Virginia committee then appointed, and about this time he wrote to Samuel Adams a letter, which was the beginning of the lifelong friendship between the two great leaders. |
