Independence Day (for the USA) is coming, so as a sop to
patriotism, I’ve got a 1776-filled post at the ready. This will not relate to
Thomas Jefferson because 1) he was not named Richard and 2) I seriously dislike
him. Just as I have an irrational love for some historical personages, I have
an irrational dislike for others – TJ is in the latter category.
Richard Henry Lee was a representative from Virginia in
the Second Continental Congress (also at the first, but we aren’t concerned
with that). On 7 June 1776, Richard put forward a resolution calling for
independence from Great Britain. The resolution read (in part):
Resolved: That these United Colonies are, and of right
ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all
allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political
connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be,
totally dissolved. *
·
See Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Henry_Lee
Later in June a committee was created to draft a document
explaining why America wanted independence. Finally, on 2 July, Lee’s resolution
was voted on, and independence was approved. The Declaration of Independence
was approved two days later, on 4 July. Thus America’s Independence Day could
easily have been the Second of July (although it doesn’t have the same ring).
Richard Henry Lee is certainly not the most famous of the
Founding Fathers. Aside from suggesting independence, he was a senator in the
1790s, even serving as president pro
tempore. My guess is that Lee is most famous now for being a character in
the musical 1776. In this fine
production, Lee sings a song entitled “The Lees of Old Virginia.” Although this
song is technically about how Lee will convince the Virginia House of Burgesses
to let him suggest independence, it’s memorable for its ridiculous overuse of
adverbs. We get it, Richard – your last name is Lee, and you love adverbs
because they also end in lee (-ly). The song is both annoying and amusing.
Finally, Richard Henry is the great-uncle of Robert E.
Lee, the famous Confederate general.
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