In this June 29, 1776, letter to Continental Army major general Charles Lee, Richard Henry Lee describes his opinion of Virginia’s first state constitution. Richard Henry Lee was a delegate in the Continental Congress, where he presented the motion to declare American independence on June 7. Virginia’s Fifth Revolutionary Convention adopted the Virginia Constitution on June 29.
In this letter to Patrick Henry dated April 20, 1776, Richard Henry Lee discusses the importance of the upcoming Fifth Virginia Revolutionary Convention as the colonies face war with Britain. On May 15, the convention instructed Virginia’s delegates in Congress to declare independence.
In this letter written on March 17, 1778, Richard Henry Lee replies to his sister Hannah Lee Corbin’s letter in which she extended the idea of taxation without representation to propertied women like herself. Neither Richard Henry Lee nor Hannah Lee Corbin publicly advocated for women’s right to vote.
In this resolution delivered to the Second Continental Congress on June 7, 1776, Richard Henry Lee proposes independence for the thirteen North American British colonies. Congress approved Lee’s resolution on July 2, 1776, and incorporated a revised version of the resolution into the final paragraph of the Declaration of Independence adopted on July 4, 1776.
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