Freedom’s Calling

Richard Henry Lee and America’s Steps to Independence Richard Henry Lee was a prominent statesman from Virginia.  Though not a firebrand, like Patrick Henry, or quite as prolific as Thomas Paine, Lee became known as a quite the powerful orator and writer.  His words, spoken and in print, were important cogs in the wheels that churned toward America’s independence from England. Early Life Lee was born in Virginia and following home tutoring and then schooling in England, he returned to America and served as a Justice of the Peace for Westmoreland County.  In 1758, he was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses and was later a delegate to Continental Congress. The Steps Toward Independence […]

The Rules of Civility, Part 2 The Importance of Civility to George Washington was never more apparent than when a young George took much effort to memorize all 120 Rules for Civility valued at the time.  This article is Part 2 of a two part set.  In this part, the second 55 of the 110 Rules of Civility, which Washington valued so highly, are listed and are shown exactly as he wrote them as a teen. Civic Virtue – Civility The future first president of the United States thought civility, good manners and politeness were so important that he wrote out the Rules of Civility in his own hand and memorized them as a young […]

The Birth of The Constitution of The United States of America A constitution is the document that constitutes or creates a government. It is a contract between the people and the government.  As is described in the Declaration of Independence, under the American Constitution, the people grant certain powers to the government, and in return, the government is to secure the natural rights of the people. James Madison was the primary architect of the Constitution. He was the one who came to the convention with the ideas that resulted in the Constitution. Thomas Jefferson was not at the Constitutional Convention. He was the Ambassador to France at the time. However, there was a series of […]