We have updated our Privacy Policy Please take a moment to review it. By continuing to use this site, you agree to the terms of our updated Privacy Policy.

Nonfiction / History / United States / Revolutionary Period (1775-1800)

Date de parution: November 7th 2017

First Founding Father

Richard Henry Lee and the Call to Independence

by Harlow Giles Unger

Before Washington, before Jefferson, before Franklin or John Adams, there was Lee–Richard Henry Lee, the First Founding Father

Richard Henry Lee was first to call for independence, first to call for union, and first to call for a bill of rights to protect Americans against government tyranny. A towering figure in America’s Revolutionary War, Lee was as much the “father of our country” as George Washington, for it was Lee who secured the political and diplomatic victories that ensured Washington’s military victories. Lee was critical in holding Congress together at a time when many members sought to surrender or flee the approach of British troops. Risking death on the gallows for defying British rule, Lee charged into battle himself to prevent British landings along the Virginia coast–despite losing most of his left hand in an explosion.

A stirring, action-packed biography, First Founding Father will startle most Americans with the revelation that many historians have ignored for more than two centuries: Richard Henry Lee, not Thomas Jefferson, was the author of America’s original Declaration of Independence.

Regular Price $28.00

Regular Price $36.50 CAD

Page Count: 320

ISBN-13: 9780306825613

Language: English

Meet The Author: Harlow Giles Unger

Acclaimed historian Harlow Giles Unger is a former Distinguished Visiting Fellow at George Washington’s Mount Vernon. He is the author of twenty-six previous books, including twelve biographies of America’s Founding Fathers and three histories of the early Republic. He lives in New York City.

Discover More

A Talk with Harlow Giles Unger, Author of First Founding Father

October 2 2017

A Talk with Harlow Giles Unger, Author of FIRST FOUNDING FATHER

Who was Richard Henry Lee? Richard Henry Lee was the father of American independence. Though unrecognized by most Americans today, it was Lee who stood in Congress four weeks before the date we now celebrate as Independence Day and moved “that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States.”…

Read full article