I, Richard Henry Lee, was born on the 20th day of January in the year 1732.
I was a member of the Continental Congress in Philadelphia in the summer of 1776, and on June 7, 1776, i proposed the following resolution:
Resolved: that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain is, and ought to be totally dissolved.
We members of the Continental Congress passed this resolution on July 2, 1776, the birthdate of American Independence.
We then discussed and edited the Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson and his committee. The most substantial change was the regrettable removal of a condemnation of the slave trade. The Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776.
When the Constitutional Convention was held in 1787, i refused to attend. I opposed this attempt to create a strong central government.
I served in the Senate from 1789 to 1792, and I helped create the Bill of Rights -- the first ten amendments to the constitution.
The history books say that i died on June 19, 1794; however the history books are wrong. Upon cessation of my vital functions, i was preserved in a large cask of Madeira wine by the Madeira Society. And, thanks to the Society, i have been successfully reanimated, and am enjoying once again a full and vigorous life, most particularly enjoying the spectacular company of my dear beloved wife Candie, who was also preserved and reanimated by the society.
On July 2, 2001, Candie and i publicly proposed the Decentralization Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America. We invite you to join us in supporting the Amendment.