Richard Henry Lee (1732–1794)

Richard Henry Lee was the visionary Virginia statesman who introduced the formal resolution in Congress declaring that the colonies "are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States." A master of oratory known as the "Cicero of America," he was a primary organizer of the Committees of Correspondence which unified colonial resistance. He signed the Declaration of Independence and later served as the President of the Continental Congress under the Articles of Confederation. Though he initially opposed the 1787 Constitution due to the absence of a Bill of Rights, his persistence helped ensure those protections were eventually added. Lee concluded his career as one of Virginia's first U.S. Senators, leaving a legacy of intellectual leadership and unyielding principle.