Richard Henry Lee of Virginia: A Portrait of an American Revolutionary

McGaughy’s biography of Richard Henry Lee has some useful insights into the beginning of the country as experienced by a Virginia planter. Many of the original founders were Virginia planters but what McGaughy does is explain in some detail how important the growing and selling of tobacco was for Lee and what that involved for him and his family. But even more important is McGaughy’s analysis throughout the book of how the drive for western lands (as shown by Lee) played a critical role in the interaction between Britain and the colonies. These points have all been covered before but McGaughy’s book details the concerns for land and profit of one man – Richard Henry Lee. These details may not be of particular interest to the general reader but to anyone intrigued about the role self-interest played in the Revolution, the book is a valuable addition to the biographies of the first Americans.McGaughy’s writing style is straightforward, not as smooth as the biographies of a Chernow or Brands, yet still well-written. Transitions are smooth and paragraphs are well-structured. Throughout the book the author very frequently uses Lee’s full name to refer to him. This seems odd at first until the reader realizes that there were many, many Lees involved in the Revolution, even another Richard who was known as Richard “Squire” Lee. At times the topic demands that he move back and forth in time but this does not detract from the overall flow of the book. The author integrates Lee’s political work with his family life. McGaughy’s matter-of-fact discussion of Lee’s actions regarding his slaves I found at times very disturbing but it is the way Richard Henry Lee would have experienced it. In no way does this justify the behavior of the planters but McGaughy’s point is to show us what “property” in human beings was like. In this sense he was successful and, as much as we might be repulsed by the attitude taken toward our fellow humans, the book does a good job of showing how Lee felt and acted.Lee had a somewhat strange reputation in his time. On the one hand, he was lauded by his colleagues for his speaking skills and made one of the Presidents under the Articles of Confederation. But throughout his life he also made many enemies for reasons that are not always clear and I found McGaughy's defense of Lee in these disputes a little too one-sided. Lee also changed positions on important issues very quickly, shown especially in the chapters on “The Making of a Radical” and “Debating the Federal Constitution.” Why he did this is also not very clear. McGaughy does not do a good job of explaining Lee’s changes in his positions perhaps because the relevant material simply does not exist. There appears to have been something about Lee’s personality that caused some of his colleagues to either admire him or detest him. The book does not explain why in any detail. This may not be the author’s fault. But it still leaves the reader wondering what caused both slander and respect of this man.Overall this is a good biography of one of the lesser known founders. It is especially valuable for showing how self-interest in obtaining “western lands” and making a living off tobacco played a role in the larger ideas of the Revolution and the Constitution. It lacks in certain details about what the character and personality of Richard Henry Lee was like but it is a worthwhile book to add to a collection of biographies of the American founders.

Kent J. McGaughy's biography of Richard Henry Lee looks beyond the traditional reputation in search of the true Lee. McGaughy does a fine job of his research and presents Lee in a favorable light; more so than other authors provide in reference to Lee within related biographies. 236-pages of text are provided on R.H. Lee's life and accomplishments and as a result the reader is left thoroughly informed.In the end, however, the general perception of R.H. Lee as cantankerous, pretentious, conniving and obstreperous remains and may be even reinforced. McGaughy takes great care to present this history from a perspective that is NOT imbued with the historical prejudice that is unflattering to his subject, but in almost all accounts the reason for Lee's unkind recollection is still there, hiding in-plain-sight, between the lines of even this biography. Personal financial impetus is shown to play a HUGE role in decisions, alliances and subsequent positions that form the nation. (paying unintended homage to Charles A. Beard's thesis in,  An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States ). The battle of western land speculation involving competing "corporations" sets the stage for most of Lee's subsequent alliances and attitudes. On that topic, Lee's detestation for the service of Silas Deane is born out of earlier, competing land speculation schemes, a jealousy that boils into the "Dean-Lee Imbroglio" from which even this biography (reluctantly?) vindicates Deane (pg. 235). McGaughy later presents Lee as a "reluctant anti-federalist" but looses his direction (and Lee's "reluctance") before the chapter is complete. The reader (unintentionally) gets a glimpse of a grotesque Lee on page 206 when McGaughy acknowledges Lee's alliance with J. Adams in the push for ceremonial (pompous?) title for the President and Vice President. Lee pretentiously announces that, "all the world civilized and savage called for the use of titles." Apparently a school of thought containing not many in the Senate, most notably Lee and (VP) Adams as its pupils.Despite the biography's very reasonable 249 page overall length - it still reads LONG. The early chapters dealing with Lee family ancestry and subsequent chapters documenting R.H. Lee's land speculation schemes bog down... first, with too-much, then, too convoluted. Worthwhile if you are researching Lee, but overdone for the average reader, even one otherwise fascinated by the American Founding period. Still, it is difficult to understand competing Revolutionary and Founding Period mind-sets without understanding men such as Richard Henry Lee and: George Mason, Melancton Smith, John Lansing, Samuel Chase, etc. and so, this biography is a recommended read for its content, but recommended cautiously because of its sometimes wearisome presentation.-----kindle edition (Fire HD)-----Well done e-book implementation! Well chapter linked, very well linked citations to the Notes sections (at chapter ends). I found no typos (though admit to being a poor text editor) The illustrations - maps - work MUCH better on the Fire HD than I am used to with the kindle 6" E-ink. I think even the e-book version should always display page numbers (for hardcopy reference) and happily this book does. The index has no page references or links, but the kindle's; "highlight>search book" feature provides a perfectly acceptable functionality. e-book publication quality for Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Inc. ★★★★★, excellent! An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States

If you're interested in reading about a gracious, gentleman aristocrat who has been historically under-credited with helping to guide not only the American Revolution, but also helped construct a new nation upon the principles of democratic stability, you will appreciate this book. The biography's weaknesses include a certain "textbook" (boring) quality in the beginning, which is to some extent necessary to establish the background and heritage of the Lee family in Virginia, but your patience will be rewarded when the narrative escalates as R.H. Lee became active in public political life. Other weaknesses include a certain "jumping back and forth" at certain points that can be confusing to the reader, and a lack of real insight into the actual personality, likes and dislikes of RH Lee. However, the "heart" of the book does accurately and plainly make clear Lee's position on colonial affairs, matters of economics including trade relations between the intercolonies and with Great Britain and other nations, as well as the on-going developing policy of land acquisition and relationships with Native Americans and other colonial developers such as France and Spain. Particularly fascinating, to me, were the very detailed undermining and political backstabbing that Lee was not the aggressor of, but rather the defendant to; Lee, as a prominent representative of his family and other Virginians, was continually thrust into the spotlight to defend his name, his family, and character of Virginian aristocrats' intentions and purposes. The sheer internecine squabbling and petty slander aimed at Lee were almost shocking even by modern standards, and in reading this book, one should develop a better appreciation of the fact that most of the men who authored or advised state and national charters were truly working from personal experience, as they tried to ensure a working democracy with guaranteed civil rights and redresses to give all people the opportunity at true equality and fair-play within the system. By the end of the book, one should also appreciate Lee for having the strength, courage, and character to having diligently served the public from a sense of duty and responsibility to both the family which produced distinguished gentlemen, and to the fellow citizens who benefited from such tireless and conscientious energy. The publication of this book is almost as much of a "public service" as that attributed to its subject, Richard Henry Lee.

My professor is the Author and he is indeed a great teacher. We did have to get his book for his class but it was well needed for the topics we've been learning. Keep in mind it is a bibliography... some people buying it for his class were quite clueless. It is needed and well worth the money spent. Although the used book I did receive was in terrible condition. There was coffee spill all over the book. The binding was coming off and whoever owned it before me did not mind writing all over the book taking mental notes. Thank goodness I did not have to read the book verbatim.

Arrived early, interesting history of a relatively forgotten early American.