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Son of Thomas Lee, Richard Henry Lee pursued his father’s interest in westward expansion and was a key political figure during the American Revolution (1775–1783): it was Lee who, at the Second Continental Congress in 1776, made the motion to declare independence from Britain.

Richard Henry Lee, (born Jan. 20, 1732, Stratford, Va. [U.S.]—died June 19, 1794, Chantilly, Va., U.S.), American statesman. Educated in England at Wakefield Academy, Lee returned to America in 1751 and served as a justice of the peace in Westmoreland county, Va.

On June 7, 1776, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia, introduced this resolution in the Second Continental Congress proposing independence for the American colonies. In the early 1770s, more and more colonists became convinced that the British Parliament intended to take away their freedom.

On June 7, 1776, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia introduces a resolution for independence to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia; John Adams seconds the motion.

Richard Henry Lee (1733-1794) Richard Henry Lee, known by contemporaries as the "Cicero" of the American Revolution, was a politician and planter from Virginia who was indispensible to the founding of the United States.