Richard Henry Lee

8 Pages 1997 Words

. In September 1765, he led a public presentation in which a prearranged crowd displayed and hanged models of George Mercer, the Virginia stamp man, and George Grenville, the prime minister accountable for the Stamp Act. This event, among others, “provides a splendid example of the oral and visual appeals used to mobilize the often illiterate populace of rural Virginia.” (Maier, 177) In addition, Lee’s speeches were more effective than some of the other Revolutionaries’. This was because his points were always clear and concise, rather than that of others such as Patrick Henry, who “overwhelmed listeners with grace and eloquence, but left them unsure of what he had said.” (Maier, 164) Richard Henry preached unity against this common cause among Americans. In a letter to Samuel Adams in 1773, he proclaimed, “A prudent man should lend his assistance to extinguish the flames, which had invaded the house of his next door neighbor, and not coldly wait, until the flames had reached his own.” (Maier, 179) Through his influential actions and words, Lee proved that he would not back down until Britain returned to the colonists the rights guaranteed to them by the English constitution.
However, as the Revolution movement progressed and Britain showed no signs of giving in, Lee lost any hope of reconciling with Great Britain, and his resentment reached a breaking point. At the first Continental Congress, Lee had assured New Englander’s that the Boston acts would be repealed and Britain would end its nonsense. In 1769 Lee attempted to show Lord Shelburne that Americans in revolt were not guilty of treason or dis...