Arthur Lee (politician)

Arthur Lee (born December 20, 1740 in Westmoreland County , Colony of Virginia , † December 12, 1792 in Urbanna , Virginia ) was an American politician and diplomat. From 1782 to 1784 he was a delegate for Virginia in the Continental Congress .

Career

Arthur Lee came from the Lee family well known in Virginia. He had three brothers who also went down in history. Richard (1732–1794) was the sixth President of the Continental Congress and a signatory to the United States Constitution . He is considered one of the founding fathers of the United States . Francis (1734–1797) was also a signatory to the constitution and the founding fathers. Another brother named William (1739–1795) was in the diplomatic service of the American movement during the Revolution . To Lee's distant relatives also scored the later general of the Confederacy , Robert E. Lee .

Arthur Lee was on the Stratford Plantation born of his father. He graduated from Eton College in England and then studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland until 1765 . After studying law in London and being admitted to the bar in 1770, he began to work in this profession in the British capital. During this time he also worked as an agent for the British colony of Massachusetts . At that time he also wrote some political treatises in which he spoke out against slavery . He also dealt critically with English foreign policy both in Europe and in relation to the American colonies. He joined the revolutionary movement and was sent to France in 1776 and Spain in 1777 , where he served as the American envoy. In the meantime, he also represented the interests of his homeland at the Prussian court in Berlin . During his work abroad he also collected important information that he passed on to America. He was thus one of the first American spies.

In 1780 he returned to Virginia. In 1782 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences . Between 1781 and 1786 he sat several times in the Virginia House of Representatives and from 1782 to 1784 he represented his state in the Continental Congress. Between 1785 and 1789 he was a member of the United States Treasury Board . Arthur Lee died on December 12, 1792 in the home he built in Middlesex County .

Web links

• Arthur Lee in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Arthur Lee in the database of Find a Grave (English)