SkipCaptcha, Automoderated users, edit
1,631
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Line 23:
Line 23: + + + + + +
Added to page
He was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1785, and in 1786 became a representative to the Continental Congress. While a member, Lee consistently advocated a strengthening of the [[Articles of Confederation]], which he saw as necessary to effectively protect America against foreign aggression. He also feared the weak Confederation government would lead to anarchy and the destruction of liberty; at one point he predicted to friends that if incidents like [[Shays' Rebellion]] continued, the result would be "a mob government for a time, which will terminate in despotism among ourselves or from abroad." For these reasons, Lee supported the [[Constitutional Convention]] of 1787, and represented, with [[James Madison]] and others, the [[Federalist]] cause at the Virginia ratification convention in 1788.
He was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1785, and in 1786 became a representative to the Continental Congress. While a member, Lee consistently advocated a strengthening of the [[Articles of Confederation]], which he saw as necessary to effectively protect America against foreign aggression. He also feared the weak Confederation government would lead to anarchy and the destruction of liberty; at one point he predicted to friends that if incidents like [[Shays' Rebellion]] continued, the result would be "a mob government for a time, which will terminate in despotism among ourselves or from abroad." For these reasons, Lee supported the [[Constitutional Convention]] of 1787, and represented, with [[James Madison]] and others, the [[Federalist]] cause at the Virginia ratification convention in 1788.
'''Virginia Governor'''
Lee continued to serve in the Continental Congress until his term expired in 1788, shortly before that body was replaced by the new [[United States Congress]], and was elected to the Virginia General Assembly. Though Lee had up to this time acted as a Federalist and moderate nationalist, he soon reversed his stance in response to the centralizing policies of other Federalists, especially the financial system advocated by [[Alexander Hamilton]]. He joined the ranks of the [[Anti-Federalists]], calling for the adoption of a [[Bill of Rights]] and other measures to restrain the federal government, and was especially concerned about the potential for a Northern-dominated Congress to oppress the Southern states.
Lee was elected governor of Virginia in 1791, serving until December 1794.
==References==
==References==