"Richard Henry Lee, Patrick Henry, and ‘Light-horse Harry’ Lee: A Complicated Dance"

In 1788, Patrick Henry and Richard Henry Lee led the effort in Virginia to block ratification of the U.S. Constitution because they believed it created a government too powerful and distant from the people; the presidency "squints towards monarchy," Patrick Henry warned. At the time, Henry (Light-horse Harry) Lee was a leading federalist. In 1799, Henry Lee, working with George Washington, convinced Patrick Henry to come out of retirement to defend the Constitution against Thomas Jefferson's radical states' rights agenda that threatened the union. How these three -- Richard Henry Lee, Henry Lee, and Patrick Henry -- interacted in the complex negotiations for the U.S. Constitution and then fought to preserve it is a largely untold story with great relevance for our time.

Join Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello historian, John Ragosta, as he shares insight into this largely untold story.

Location: duPont Library at Stratford Hall

Price: $10; Free for Friends of Stratford Members

Masks required for indoor events.