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Tag: Richard Henry Lee

  • Change Comes From Within–May 10, 1776

    Cover art for May 10, 1776: Portrait of Richard Henry Lee (cropped) by Charles Willson Peale, ca. 1795-1805. via National Portrait Gallery.

    You may remember a couple of the Colonies chose to endorse independence without necessarily declaring it. This suggested that a formal declaration from the Colonies as a whole was likely imminent.

    You may also remember that motions by the Second Continental Congress needed to be voted on unanimously in order to pass, so they could “speak as one voice.”

    To that end, the Congress recommended today that Colonies with a government that wasn’t in favor of independence, form a new government that would be more likely to endorse independence. It’s not entirely clear how they expected the individual Colonies to effect this recommendation, but before long it wouldn’t be difficult at all.

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  • Letter to Virginia–April 9, 1776

    Cover art for April 9, 1776: Portrait of Francis Lightfoot Lee by Willie Arthur Pepoon, date unknown. This is generally considered to be a definitive image of Lee, even though he died long before Pepoon was born.

    We need your love! Don’t forget to share this show with your friends. Likewise, share it with your enemies; maybe they’ll become your friends as a result.

    The Lees were a very prominent family in Virginia, connected to most major events in that era of American History. So it makes sense that Francis Lightfoot Lee sees American Independence on the horizon, and that it was Richard Henry Lee who first put the question (or, as the Founding Fathers wrote it, “The Question”) before Congress.

    Incidentally, it’s worth noting that Francis and Richard were the only brothers to sign the Declaration of Indepenence.

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  • August 29, 1775: From One Virginian To Another

    George Washington was a very good general and a disciplined soldier, but the fact that his men weren’t…well, that worried him a lot.

    He had a huge number of soldiers with him at Cambridge for the Siege of Boston. But since the British were so bottled up in the city, there weren’t many things for them to do other than patrol and keep an eye open for any possible moves the British made.

    Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on whom you ask), Washington was typically forthcoming with this information and he’d tell it to anyone relevant. In today’s case, his concerns fell on someone who was actually paying attention.

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