This post was originally published on this site.
John Adams proposing George Washington for Commander-in-Chief of the American Army
On June 7th, 1776, a tall Virginian rose from his chair in the State House in Philadelphia (now called Independence Hall) and changed the course of human history.
Richard Henry Lee addressed his fellow delegates to the Second Continental Congress with a resolution that was brief, clear, and revolutionary — “that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states…absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown.” John Adams seconded the motion immediately. The debate was opened. A committee was assembled — Adams, Jefferson, Franklin, Livingston, and Sherman — and Thomas Jefferson was given the task of writing what would become the Declaration of Independence.
By July 4th, it was done. The Second Continental Congress voted, and the United States of America was born 250 years ago.
But Richard Henry Lee’s contribution to this nation didn’t end there — and this is the part of the story that doesn’t get told enough. When the Constitution came up for ratification in 1787, Lee was among those who argued it was incomplete. Not because he opposed self-governance, but because he understood something profound — that rights which seem secure today, given the goodwill of present leadership, may not be secure tomorrow unless they are written down explicitly and placed beyond dispute.
In his Letters from a Federal Farmer, Lee wrote that people, wisely, like to be express and explicit about their essential rights — knowing that in any controversy between them and their rulers, disputes may be endless and nothing certain. He called for the free exercise of religion to be established as part of the national compact. He called for protection from unreasonable search and seizure. He insisted the Constitution must be adhered to strictly — in letter and in spirit — by every generation that followed.
Lee’s letters were instrumental in producing the first ten amendments to our Constitution — the Bill of Rights.
This Independence Day, as America celebrates her 250th birthday, there is a renewed hunger to know these men — not just Washington and Jefferson and Franklin, but the Richards and Rogers and Roberts who stood beside them. Lee was a giant among giants, and his legacy lives in every freedom we still enjoy.
Know your founders. Honor their work. And keep the Republic they gave us. Stay inspired and informed at PhyllisSchlafly.com, and join us again for the Phyllis Schlafly Report.
