Richard Henry Lee
BIRTH
Jan 20, 1732
Westmoreland County, Virginia
DEATH
June 19, 1794
Westmoreland County, Virginia
President of the Continental Congress
Nov 30, 1784 - Nov 4, 1785
Delegate to the Continental Congress (VA)
FAMILY
FATHER:
Thomas Lee
(1690-1750)
MOTHER:
Hannah Harrison Ludwell
(1701-1750)
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Lee, Richard Henry Lee
(1732-1794)
Richard Henry Lee was an American statesman and Founding Father from Virginia, best known for the June 1776 Lee Resolution, the motion in the Second Continental Congress calling for the colonies' independence from Great Britain leading to the United States Declaration of Independence, which he signed. Lee also served a one-year term as the president of the Continental Congress, proposed and was a signatory to the Continental Association, signed the Articles of Confederation, and was a United States Senator from Virginia from 1789 to 1792, serving part of that time as the second president pro tempore of the upper house.
BIRTHPLACE:
MUSEUM
Stafford Hall
253 Great House Rd, Stratford, VA 22558
GRAVE:
MARKER
Grave of Richard Henry Lee
22 Coles Point Rd, Hague, VA 22469
8
BROTHER
Philip Ludwell Lee
(1727-1775)
SISTER
Alice Lee Shippen
(1736-1817)
SISTER
Hannah Lee Corbin
(1728-1782)
BROTHER
Francis Lightfoot Lee
(1734-1797)
WIFE
Anne Aylett
(1738-1768)
WIFE
Anne Gaskins
(1742-1796)
Thomas Lee
(1690-1750)
Anne Lee
(1839-?)
Francis Lightfoot Lee
(1734-1797)
Ludwell Lee
(1760-1836)
Places | Image | Address | GPS | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|
George Washington's Mount Vernon | 3200 Mount Vernon Memorial Hwy, Mt Vernon, VA 22121 | MUSEUM | ||
Colonial Williamsburg | 101 Visitor Center Dr, Williamsburg, VA 23185 | MUSEUM | ||
Virginia Capitol Building | E Duke of Gloucester St, Williamsburg, VA 23185 | MUSEUM | ||
Charlton's Coffeehouse | 429 E Duke of Gloucester St, Williamsburg, VA 23185 | MUSEUM | ||
Stafford Hall | 253 Great House Rd, Stratford, VA 22558 | MUSEUM | ||
Grave of Richard Henry Lee | 22 Coles Point Rd, Hague, VA 22469 | MARKER | ||
Westmoreland Association Marker | 2728 Kings Hwy, Colonial Beach, VA 22443 | MARKER | ||
Old Westmoreland Courthouse Marker | 15803 Kings Hwy, Montross, VA 22520 | MARKER |
DIED:
Westmoreland County, Virginia
Jun 19, 1794
Lee was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, to Colonel Thomas Lee and Hannah Harrison Ludwell Lee on January 20, 1732. He came from a line of military officers, diplomats, and legislators. His father was the governor of Virginia before his death in 1750. Lee spent most of his early life in Stratford, Virginia, at Stratford Hall. Here he was tutored and taught a variety of skills. To develop his political career, his father sent him around to neighboring planters with the intention for Lee to become associated with neighboring men of like prominence. In 1748, at 16, Lee left Virginia for Yorkshire, England, to complete his formal education at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield. Both of his parents died in 1750. In 1753, after touring Europe, he returned to Virginia to help his brothers settle the estate his parents had left behind.
In August 1774, Lee was chosen as a delegate to the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia. In Lee's Resolution on June 7, 1776, during the Second Continental Congress, Lee put forth the motion to the Continental Congress to declare Independence from Great Britain.
Lee was elected the sixth president of Congress under the Articles of Confederation on November 30, 1784, in the French Arms Tavern, Trenton, New Jersey. Congress convened on January 11, 1785, in the old New York City Hall, with Lee presiding until November 23, 1785. Although he was not paid a salary, his household expenses were covered in the amount of $12,203.13.
Lee abhorred the notion of imposing federal taxes and believed that continuing to borrow foreign money was imprudent. Throughout his term, he maintained that the states should relinquish their claims in the Northwest Territory, enabling the federal government to fund its obligations through land sales.