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Download the Biography of Francis Lightfoot Lee Here THE MENOKIN FOUNDATION: Research and Documents Archive Original Document | Reproduction | Transcription Summer 2003 Sarah L.Jones Research Report Francis LightfootLee MenokinMenokin Foundation Summer 2004Summer 2004 Research Report SarahSarah L. Jones Menokin Foundation Intern Yale University Class of 2006Class 2006 1 Summary of Research During the course of my 2004 summer internship with The Menokin Foundation, I focused on the continuation of my research on Francis Lightfoot Lee. I continued to critically examine Lee’s correspondence in the Virginia Historical Society’s holdings, which I transcribed during Summer 2003, as well as materials which I acquired during the Spring semester of 2004 as part of my research project on Lee at Yale University. Although my research is not complete at this time, I have written an article on Francis Lightfoot Lee, his beliefs, and his work in the Second Continental Congress. I submitted a “working copy” of this article to the Virginia Historical Society, and was told that, with revision, it could be submitted to outside readers. I plan to revise the article and resubmit it to VHS, as well as write another piece to submit to the Northern Neck Historical Society for possible publication. I expect to complete both articles by late September 2004. While researching Lee’s involvement in the Second Continental Congress, I came upon Edmund C. Burnett’s Letters of the Members of the Continental Congress. I have included copies of those documents pertaining to Lee in this report. From this source, I discovered Lee was actively involved with the Board of War, but have, at this point, been unable to conclude that Lee was an actual member of the Board. I do, however, know that he was a member of a committee comprised of the members of the Board of War and three other congressmen whose purpose was to secure supplies for the Continental Army. Other interesting facts I came upon include Lee’s presence at a meeting with Lafayette, Lee’s involvement with the signing of an “Engagement of Members to Meet Punctually, Etc.,” and John Harvie’s expectation that Lee would succeed John Hancock as president of the Continental Congress in 1777 (Lee did not become president, however). One letter that is particularly interesting and a fairly rare example of Lee’s sarcasm is found on page 551 of Volume III and is regarding what would later become known as the Silas Deane Affair. I intend to use this information to further my research and writing on Lee. 2 While researching at the Library of Virginia, I copied and recorded all occurrences of Francis Lightfoot Lee’s name in the Journals of the House of Burgesses from 1758-1776. I have also included this information in this report. During my internship I also prepared an introduction to Francis Lightfoot Lee and the “Engagement of Members to Meet Punctually, Etc.” for the Menokin Foundation website. I also performed various archival tasks for the Foundation, including the archiving of historic and current photographs of the Menokin house and property, and newspaper articles. I organized and labeled the current contents of the Menokin archives. Other tasks included aiding LaToya Ball-Tate in the organization of the Menokin files, writing a draft of a grant proposal introduction to the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and attending the Small Museums Conference with the Menokin staff in Baltimore, MD. It is still my belief that a great deal more can be learned from the correspondence and life work of Francis Lightfoot Lee, when read in its historical context. Thus, I intend to continue to research Lee and his times. I will be making an in-kind contribution to the Menokin Foundation of all past and future hours spent researching Lee and Menokin. Once I have exhausted the resources for my research, I plan to complete a manuscript on Francis Lightfoot Lee, his character and the times in which he lived, for submission for publication. I hope to bring Francis Lightfoot Lee out from under the shadow of his more famous brother, Richard Henry, and recast Frank Lee not as the “inconspicuous” man that Mark Twain described him as, but rather as the active patriot he was. Respectfully Submitted, Sarah L. Jones August 18, 2004 Menokin Foundation Intern, Summer 2004 Yale University Class of 2006 3 Abstract for paper on Francis Lightfoot Lee: The purpose of this article is to bring Francis Lightfoot Lee out from under the shadow of his more famous brother, Richard Henry, and recast Francis Lee not as the “inconspicuous” man that Mark Twain described him as, but rather as an active patriot. The primary source for this paper is Lee’s correspondence with Landon Carter (Lee Family Papers, Virginia Historical Society), as well as a number of documents written by Lee’s contemporaries. Lee’s involvement as an early opponent of the British and later in the Second Continental Congress, his committee work as a leader of the Board of War, his use of the rhetoric of conspiracy and corruption, and his advocacy of American self- reliance are discussed in order to provide a more accurate view of Francis Lightfoot Lee. This article was written under the guidance of Dr. David W. Blight of Yale University. This paper not to be cited without the written permission of The Menokin Foundation and Sarah L. Jones. 4 Francis Lightfoot Lee: Patriot of the American Revolution “This man’s life-work was so inconspicuous, that his name would now be wholly forgotten, but for one thing- he signed the Declaration of Independence. Yet his life was a most useful and worthy one. It was a good and profitable voyage, though it left no phosphorescent splendors in its wake.” –Mark Twain on Francis Lightfoot Lee, 1877 1 Francis Lightfoot Lee (1734-1797) is what one might call a “forgotten revolutionary.” Although described by his niece as the “sweetest of all the Lee race” and as possessing a temper “as soft as the dove’s,” Lee was far from being the inconspicuous man Twain claimed he was. 2 Lee, his memory now nearly hidden beneath the rubble of his Virginia mansion, had a life that was “most useful and worthy,” the life of a patriot of the American Revolution. Yet Lee has not been granted his proper place in history, for his involvement with the founding of the country lies not only in his signature on the Declaration of Independence, but with over thirty years of active political service. During these years Lee actively opposed British measures, sought independence, and served the emerging nation through a number of committees as a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses, the Second Continental Congress, and the Virginia State Senate. Lee was certainly not an “inconspicuous” man, nor was he merely “soft as a dove.” 1 Mark Twain in The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, 1, no. 3 (1877). Reprinted in Charles Neider, ed., Mark Twain: Life as I Find It (New York, 1961). 2 Ann Hume Shippen Livingston, “Sonnet” c. 1781, Shippen Family Papers, Jessie Ball DuPont Library, Stratford Hall, VA 5 Rather, Lee was a true patriot, not only according to standards held by his contemporaries, but also to his own. One of the first notable actions of Francis Lightfoot Lee on the Virginia political stage was his support of the Westmoreland Resolves, signed February 27, 1766. 3 Drafted by his brother, Richard Henry, the Westmoreland Resolves protested the Stamp Act. The document began powerfully with the words “Roused by danger and alarmed at attempts, foreign and domestic, to reduce the people of this country to a state of abject and detestable slavery by destroying that free and happy condition of government under which they have hitherto lived...” 4 The Resolves proclaimed the allegiance of the signers to Britain, but at the same time protested the taxation of the colonies without proper representation, declaring that anyone who attempted “to deprive this Colony [Virginia] of these fundamental rights, we will immediately regard him or them, as the most dangerous enemy of the community.” 5 Thus, the Resolves put forth that the signers would “exert every faculty, to prevent the execution of the said Stamp Act in any instance whatsoever within this Colony [Virginia].” 6 As a supporter of the Westmoreland Resolves, Lee placed himself in opposition to the British Crown. His signature on a document so vehemently opposed to British law included Lee in the group of Virginians who would continue to support resistance to British measures, and eventually advocate the independence of the colonies. Yet such independence would not be popularly supported throughout the 1760s. In fact, as historian Edward Countryman notes, “not until after the war actually broke out did more 3 The Westmoreland Resolves are also known as the Leedstown Resolutions. 4 “Westmoreland Resolves”, http://www.ragerlaw.com/leedstownresolutionspage.htm , 11 August 2003, 2. 5 “Westmoreland Resolves,” 2. 6 “Westmoreland Resolves,” 2. 6 than a tiny number of them [colonists] begin thinking that rather than being Britons in America, they were not Britons at all.” 7 Further British oppression ensued, and as a result, the colonists, including Francis Lightfoot Lee, tailored their reactions to respond to the apparent British threats. With the year 1767 came a British attempt to raise revenue through the passage of the Townshend Acts (or Duties), requiring colonials to pay a tax on imported items. Colonists, already angered by previous taxes such as the Stamp Tax, responded negatively, organizing boycotts of imported goods, as well as the merchants who sold them in order to demonstrate colonial resistance to such British measures. During the tumultuous years following the passage of the Acts, Francis Lightfoot Lee remained active in political life, and offered his opinion of British-American relations to his friend and neighbor Landon Carter.
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