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 * Richard Henry Lee**

Antifederalist

Richatd Henry Lee is from Virginia. When he was born, Virginia was largely an antifederalist state. Most of the people in Virginia relied on plantations or farms as their main source of income and food. Tobacco was the primary crop grown in Virginia. Most of the farmers from Virginia were uneducated and did not believe they needed a string central government, as the government rarely affected them as it was. They feard a stronger central government would oppress them, forcing them to pay taxes and pay off old debts.

Richard Henry Lee was born in 1732, son of a military colonel. He was sent to England to be educated at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School. Elected to act as the Justice of Peace for his hometown, Lee established himself as a sound politician, and a firm anti-federalist. He was then elected to Virginia's House of Burgesses where he met his life-long friend Patrick Henry. An early advocate for colonial independence, Lee was one of the first to form Committees of Correspondence where he lived.

Being a resident and politician from Virginia, Richard Henry Lee based his political views off of those that have the best interest for the state. Virginia was a state of farmers, people who needed little governing, and Lee became an anti-federalist. He did not want a large government with too much power for the fear of an oppressive rule like that of King George III. Taking part in both Continental Congresses, he was one of the loudest supporters of independence from England.

Lee was not a member of the Constitutional Convention. Lee refused to take part in the Constitutional Convention. He feared that people would not listen to him and his fellow anti-federalists and the government would be largely centralized regardless of his input or opinion.

Richard Henry Lee did not like the Constitution, as it represented all that he had fought against his whole political career. The government had far more power than he desired.


 * Bibliography**

//Signers of the Declaration// Copyright ©1969, by John Bakeless, ©1969 by Katherine Bakeless. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company Boston.

Kindig, Thomas. //Richard Henry Lee//. n.d. Independence hall Assosiation. 20 Sept. 2010 <@http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/signers/rhlee.htm>.

Henry, Richard L. Letter. //On The Rights That Must Be Preserved In The New Constitution// 1787: N. pag.