Richard Bland Lee

Richard Bland Lee

Richard Bland Lee (born January 20, 1761 in Prince William County , Colony of Virginia , †  March 12, 1827 in Washington, DC ) was an American politician . Between 1789 and 1795 he represented the state of Virginia in the US House of Representatives .

Career

Richard Lee came from a well-known family of politicians. He was a younger brother of Governor Henry Lee (1756-1818) and Charles Lee (1758-1815), who was Attorney General between 1795 and 1801 under Presidents George Washington and John Adams . He was also an uncle of Robert E. Lee (1807-1870), Commander in Chief of the Confederate Army during the Civil War . Lee attended private schools and then studied at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg . He worked temporarily as a planter on the family estate. At the same time he struck a political career. Between 1784 and 1888 he was a member of the Virginia House of Representatives . Politically, he was a supporter of the first federal government under President Washington ( pro-administration faction ).

In the congressional elections of 1789 Lee was elected in the third constituency of Virginia in the US House of Representatives, which was then still in New York , where he took up his new seat on March 4, 1789. After two re-elections, he was able to complete three legislative terms in Congress by March 3, 1795 . Since 1793 he represented the newly established 17th district of his state there. In 1794 it was not confirmed.

In 1796 and between 1799 and 1806 he was again a member of the State Parliament of Virginia. Around 1815 he moved to Washington DC. In 1816 he was appointed by President James Madison as Commissioner to Record War Damage from the British-American War of 1812 . Three years later, the new President James Monroe appointed him guardianship judge in the District of Columbia . He held this office until his death. He also managed his plantation as a planter.

Web links

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

• 50815252 Richard Bland Lee in the database of Find a Grave (English)