06/07/2026
Learn more about the Lees of Virginia and Loudoun during the Revolution in our exhibit "Life, Liberty, Loudoun!"
“Richard Henry Lee and the Lee Resolution of June 7, 1776”
by James G. Harrison III
Richard Henry Lee was born at Stratford Hall in Westmoreland County on the Northern Neck of Virginia on Sunday, January 20, 1732 to the Honorable Thomas Lee and Hannah Harrison Ludwell. [Hannah was the daughter of Colonel Philip Ludwell II (1672 - 1726) of Green Spring Plantation in James City County, Virginia and Hannah Harrison (1679 - 1731) of Indian Fields of Southarke Parish in Surry County, Virginia. 3 of Richard Henry Lee’s 5 surviving brothers - Francis Lightfoot Lee, William Lee and Arthur Lee - became diplomats during the era of the American Revolution.
Most of Richard’s early life was spent at Stratford Hall where he was tutored, but his father introduced him to other young sons of neighbors to develop his anticipated political career. He left Virginia in 1748 at the age of 16 to complete his studies at the Queen Elizabeth Grammar School in Wakefield, England.
His parents died in 1750 while he was touring Europe. He returned to Virginia in 1753 at the age of 21 to help his brothers settle the estate of his parents.
Richard was a magnificent speaker heavily influenced from his study of the ancient classics and modern history. He later quoted both in his speeches and writings. His first speech protested the transportation of slaves and urged an increase in associated taxes to help Virginia try to rid itself of that institution. In 1757, Lee was appointed Justice of the Peace of Westmoreland County, Virginia. In 1758, he was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses.
An early advocate of American independence, Richard Henry Lee became one of the first to create a Committee of Correspondence among the many independence-minded Americans in the various colonies. In 1766, Richard Henry Lee was the principal author of the Leedstown Resolutions or Leedstown Resolves - one of the first acts of disobedience regarding the Stamp Act of 1765, also known as the Duties in American Colonies Act 1765. This led directly to the outbreak of the American Revolution, and it was in Hobbs Hole (today known as Tappahannock), Essex County, Virginia that one of the first confrontations in the 13 British Colonies occurred on Friday, February 28, 1766.
He married Anne Aylett on Sunday, December 3, 1758. Together they designed and had constructed a home 3 miles east of Stratford Hall which they named Chantilly-on-the Potomac. Their residence was located near Westmoreland Court House, in Westmoreland County overlooking Currioman Bay of the Potomac River.
In August 1774, Richard was elected as a delegate to the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He proposed and was a signatory to the Continental Association on Thursday, October 20, 1774 in Philadelphia. This agreement authorized a boycott against British merchants by the 13 colonies.
He is best known, during the Second Continental Congress, for putting forth a motion on Friday, June 7, 1776 - 250 years ago today - for the 13 British colonies to formally declare independence from Great Britain. Known as the Lee Resolution, the Continental Congress approved Richard’s motion on Tuesday, July 2, 1776 during his absence as he had returned to Virginia. This led to the adoption of the Declaration of Independence 2 days later on Thursday, July 4, 1776 which Richard signed on Friday, August 2, 1776 when he returned to Congress.
Richard signed the Articles of Confederation on Saturday, November 15, 1777. The Articles, representing the first constitution of the United States, were adopted that same day. Ratification by the 13 American states was delayed until Thursday, March 1, 1781 due to disputes regarding representation, voting and the western lands. The Articles of Confederation established a weak central government, the Congress of the Confederation, that maintained the independence of the 13 sovereign states over the next 8 years. The Articles proved ineffectual and led to the writing of the United States Constitution in the summer of 1787; its signing on Monday, September 17, 1787; its ratification (by the required 9 of the 13 original states) on Saturday, June 21, 1788; and its implementation in 1789. (The remaining 4 states ratified the Constitution by Saturday, May 29, 1790.)
He served a 1-year term as the President of the Continental Congress from Tuesday, November 30, 1784 to Wednesday, November 23, 1785 and then as a United States Senator from Virginia in the First and Second Congresses from Wednesday, March 4, 1789 to Monday, October 8, 1792 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Richard’s political views were that of an anti-federalist (Democratic Republican).
He became the 2nd president pro tempore of the United States Senate on Wednesday, April 18, 1792. Richard served in that a role until Monday, October 8, 1792 when he was obliged to resign due to his failing health.
He died on Thursday, June 19, 1794 at Chantilly and was buried at the family cemetery at Burnt House Field about 20 miles southeast of Stratford Hall in Hague, Westmoreland County. Chantilly was destroyed during the early 19th century, quite possibly during the War of 1812.
Image: Oil on canvas portrait of Richard Henry Lee painted between circa 1795 and circa 1805 (after Lee’s 1794 death) by Charles Willson Peale. Part of the collection of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Galley in Washington, D.C.
