The Virginia Gentry: America's Only Aristocracy and What We can Learn from Them

The Virginia Gentry: America's Only Aristocracy and What We can Learn from Them

In this episode, Will discusses the history, formation, and immense accomplishments of the Virginia Gentry with J Burden. The two cover why the Virginian planter class was different from the planters of the Deep South and the WASPs of the North, making it the only real American aristocracy. They then cover how the famed "Virginia Cavalier" migration wave was true in a sense, and how it brought the concept of state, church, and property being unified to the Old Dominion. Building on that, they discuss how the leading men of Old Virginia built their local power and sovereignty through a "cursus honorum" that combined the best aspects of aristocracy and democracy to build a tremendously competent leadership class in Colonial Virginia and Early Republic America. Finally, the two then discuss what we can learn from the Virginia gentry to rebuild effective political, social, and economic power as a counter-elite. Listen ad-free here: https://www.theamericantribune.news/p/the-virginia-gentry-americas-only [https://www.theamericantribune.news/p/the-virginia-gentry-americas-only] Sources Referenced in this Episode: I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you would like to support the show at no added cost to yourself, you can do so by using the links below to order and read the sources I used to create this episode. Thanks! A "Topping People": The Rise and Decline of Virginia's Old Political Elite, 1680-1790 By Emory G. Evans, ⁠https://amzn.to/4o7ILN0⁠ [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbl81cWpSS1U2SVpKNHAzbS1MX01VV3BYUXNFUXxBQ3Jtc0ttcndwU3Q3WEY4UFVDNVlQbkllX3hjakVnY0loeGIwZ3M4a0pQTHp1VThEYXUyYVRPdWxHMmhVa0hfT2ZaclhER2tvY3lDLXZMSnVpQTEyQXBCNXd0Skp2aFFhLXVrV2lTVGp0dHVucmVhWElqZGMtNA&q=https%3A%2F%2Famzn.to%2F4o7ILN0&v=2p1-oL10AUE] Albion's Seed By David Hackett Fischer, ⁠https://amzn.to/4fHA89R⁠ [https://amzn.to/4fHA89R] Colonial Virginia: Its People and Customs By Mary Newton Stanard, ⁠https://amzn.to/4e2nT4W⁠ [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbC1TalRhemUzNjhqcmZVQlh3U3BHcTFrdElhUXxBQ3Jtc0tuN0g3V1psY1lqTHl2VVFRdDdiODFoclRBU2NwWDcxQzNQaUpYZWpnUVBDRS1yRmQ0OTlIU2RNZk1pM1B1M01CbmNhUXNPdXZjNHljNWlVSGVsU1dyT3VOTUlxTV9aMEtEaE1GbjlSQ2lHQ2RnWGIwYw&q=https%3A%2F%2Famzn.to%2F4e2nT4W&v=2p1-oL10AUE] Colonial Virginia, Volume I and II By Richard L. Morton, ⁠https://amzn.to/3SjTUy8⁠ [https://amzn.to/3SjTUy8] American Revolutionaries in the Making By Charles S. Sydnor, ⁠https://amzn.to/4dZsPaZ⁠ [https://amzn.to/4dZsPaZ] Old Virginia by William M. S. Rasmussen, ⁠https://amzn.to/4e2mueG⁠ [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbV95Qy0xNFFScGg4ejIwZUhLY3hlaWluWU5YUXxBQ3Jtc0tuUGxFeUo4YWYxTzlkaVpqaXNRSnBSSXd5NjdJNDNYWGhzb0ZFeXpSWXg0SF9YX1BqNE93empITUhyYmNieVFKM0ppN2x2RFh5Wkt2NXB5YU5VWVBkRERLSnRuTHJnQ2FvWmpuUGJRVUk1VHN6MUk2Zw&q=https%3A%2F%2Famzn.to%2F4e2mueG&v=2p1-oL10AUE] The Age of Federalism By Stanley M. Elkins and Eric L. McKitrick, ⁠https://amzn.to/3QfnQuR⁠ [https://amzn.to/3QfnQuR] The First Gentlemen of Virginia By Louis B. Wright, ⁠https://amzn.to/43dW3Oh⁠ [https://amzn.to/43dW3Oh] The Transformation of Virginia, 1740-1790 By Rhys Isaac, ⁠https://amzn.to/4e4YZSs⁠ [https://amzn.to/4e4YZSs] Tobacco Culture By T. H. Breen,⁠https://amzn.to/43N4FLY⁠ [https://amzn.to/43N4FLY] The Sociology of Colonial Virginia By Morris Talpalar, ⁠https://amzn.to/4o8Ny0v⁠ [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbFVaa2RiNGIxdl9iaEpVaTBzTlJLcFRubnZVUXxBQ3Jtc0tubld6bGxvLTFVOUxxbzlubnNJMzhfbTZjZ0VEaFlDMDNjbFZianpqWnB2V0dxakZaSmJDa2xDOXU3d1BPQ1RRRGkyRFZBcGJZbkJYbEhzYTJZNWZIdWNxVlVTLXU3SHBHeDNQRzByMlpCOGZyZ0I4cw&q=https%3A%2F%2Famzn.to%2F4o8Ny0v&v=2p1-oL10AUE]

The Conway Cabal: Did Richard Henry Lee Betray George Washington?

This episode investigates the vital, lifelong partnership between George Washington and Richard Henry Lee, examining the persistent historical rumors that Lee sought to undermine the Commander in Chief in favor of General Nathanael Greene during the desperate winter at Valley Forge. Long before the whispers of the Conway Cabal or the publication of forged letters designed to divide them, their alliance was forged in the Northern Neck of Virginia and tested within the House of Burgesses, where they stood together against the corrupt circle of Treasury SecretaryJohn Robinson. From their joint resistance to the Stamp Act and the signing of the Westmoreland Resolves, Lee and Washington operated in lockstep. When Washington took to the field to lead the Continental Army, Lee became his indispensable voice within the Continental Congress—securing critical food and ordnance, routing trans-Atlantic intelligence directly to the field, and eventually orchestrating the political destruction of the Conway Cabal to secure Washington's supreme command. Though the ratification of the United States Constitution would later trigger a political rift—with Lee emerging as a leading Anti-Federalist critic—their personal bond endured until the master of Chantilly on the Potomac was laid to rest. Listen ad-free here: https://www.theamericantribune.news/p/the-conway-cabal-did-richard-henry [https://www.theamericantribune.news/p/the-conway-cabal-did-richard-henry] CHAPTERS: 0:00 Founding Foes and Friends 3:48 The Great Northern Neck Alliance: George Washington and Richard Henry Lee 6:39 How Henry Lee and George Washington Led Stamp Act Resistance 8:38 Supporting the War and Washington 12:46 The Conway Cabal: Rumors and Reality 21:07 A Divide Over the Constitution 23:09 Old Friends Reunite 24:32 Shared Western Dreams 26:21 Final Political Alignment Sources Referenced in this Episode: I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you would like to support the show at no added cost to yourself, you can do so by using the links below to order and read the sources I used to create this episode. Thanks! Nagel, Paul C.: The Lees of Virginia: Seven Generations of an American Dynasty, https://amzn.to/4uCI6o9 [https://amzn.to/4uCI6o9] Hendrick, Burton J.: The Lees of Virginia, https://amzn.to/4uCN4BF [https://amzn.to/4uCN4BF] Lee, Cazenove G. Jr.: Lee Chronicle: Studies of the Early Generations of the Lees, https://amzn.to/4vGzbDe [https://amzn.to/4vGzbDe] Maier, Pauline: The Old Revolutionaries, https://amzn.to/3RdsNEU [https://amzn.to/3RdsNEU] McGaughy, J. Kent: Richard Henry Lee of Virginia, https://amzn.to/4ewtGA4 [https://amzn.to/4ewtGA4] Chitwood, Oliver Perry: Richard Henry Lee, Statesman of the Revolution, https://amzn.to/4ghdkxM [https://amzn.to/4ghdkxM] Unger, Harlow Giles: First Founding Father: Richard Henry Lee and the Call to Independence, https://amzn.to/4oYRYaB [https://amzn.to/4oYRYaB] Burt, Nathaniel: First Families: The Making of an American Aristocracy, https://amzn.to/3Sopnj2 [https://amzn.to/3Sopnj2] Evans, Emory G.: A "Topping People": The Rise and Decline of Virginia's Old Political Elite, 1680-1790, https://amzn.to/43UPMaK [https://amzn.to/43UPMaK] Morton, Richard L.: Colonial Virginia VOLUME II Westward Expansion and Prelude to Revolution, 1710-1763, https://amzn.to/4vynVJw [https://amzn.to/4vynVJw] Potts, Louis W.: Arthur Lee: A Virtuous Revolutionary, https://amzn.to/4vpFLOF [https://amzn.to/4vpFLOF] Dowdey, Clifford: The Virginia Dynasties, https://amzn.to/4vlqoqN [https://amzn.to/4vlqoqN] Dowdey, Clifford: The Golden Age, https://amzn.to/3QbGNi4 [https://amzn.to/3QbGNi4] Dowdey, Clifford: The Great Plantation, https://amzn.to/4gdOxKR [https://amzn.to/4gdOxKR] Wright, Louis B.: The First Gentlemen of Virginia, https://amzn.to/4ekuR5z [https://amzn.to/4ekuR5z]

The First and Forgotten Founding Father: Richard Henry Lee's Creation of America

First of the Founding Fathers to openly call for independence, the first to call for union of the states, and the first to call for a bill of rights, Richard Henry Lee was one of the greatest Founding Fathers and is the Founder most remarkable for the number of "firsts" to his name. It was also Richard Henry Lee who authored the Westmoreland Resolves that led the field in organized and armed resistance to Britain, introduced the idea of Intercolonial Committees of Correspondence, was first chosen by Virginia to attend the First Continental Congress, and who masterminded a slew of political and diplomatic victories that ensured Washington's ultimate victory in the Revolutionary War. He held Congress together when Philadelphia was captured, saved Stratford Hall from British raiders by leading the militia, organized the West by creating the law that became the Northwest Ordinance, and ensured the Bill of Rights became law. He was a great man, yet now he is the Forgotten Founding Father, the man who ought be remembered but is not. So we remember him, this is his story Listen ad-free here: ⁠https://www.theamericantribune.news/p/the-first-and-forgotten-founding⁠ [https://www.theamericantribune.news/p/the-first-and-forgotten-founding] CHAPTERS: 0:00 America's First Founding Father 7:27 Richard Henry Lee's Life at Chantilly on the Potomac 19:13 Richard Henry Lee Enters Virginia Politics 25:00 The Architect of Resistance to the Stamp Act 29:06 Creator of the Committees of Correspondence 33:20 Richard Henry Lee Declares Independence 37:48 War, Raids, and Congress 39:37 A Leader During Confederation, Shaper of the West 41:19 Anti-Federalist Leader? 44:03 Senator and Bill of Rights Champion 45:03 Retirement and Disillusionment 49:50 Final Years at Chantilly on the Potomoac Sources Referenced in this Episode: I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you would like to support the show at no added cost to yourself, you can do so by using the links below to order and read the sources I used to create this episode. Thanks! Nagel, Paul C.: The Lees of Virginia: Seven Generations of an American Dynasty, https://amzn.to/4uCI6o9 [https://amzn.to/4uCI6o9] Hendrick, Burton J.: The Lees of Virginia, https://amzn.to/4uCN4BF [https://amzn.to/4uCN4BF] Lee, Cazenove G. Jr.: Lee Chronicle: Studies of the Early Generations of the Lees, https://amzn.to/4vGzbDe [https://amzn.to/4vGzbDe] Maier, Pauline: The Old Revolutionaries, https://amzn.to/3RdsNEU [https://amzn.to/3RdsNEU] McGaughy, J. Kent: Richard Henry Lee of Virginia, https://amzn.to/4ewtGA4 [https://amzn.to/4ewtGA4] Chitwood, Oliver Perry: Richard Henry Lee, Statesman of the Revolution, https://amzn.to/4ghdkxM [https://amzn.to/4ghdkxM] Unger, Harlow Giles: First Founding Father: Richard Henry Lee and the Call to Independence, https://amzn.to/4oYRYaB [https://amzn.to/4oYRYaB] Burt, Nathaniel: First Families: The Making of an American Aristocracy, https://amzn.to/3Sopnj2 [https://amzn.to/3Sopnj2] Evans, Emory G.: A "Topping People": The Rise and Decline of Virginia's Old Political Elite, 1680-1790, https://amzn.to/43UPMaK [https://amzn.to/43UPMaK] Morton, Richard L.: Colonial Virginia VOLUME II Westward Expansion and Prelude to Revolution, 1710-1763, https://amzn.to/4vynVJw [https://amzn.to/4vynVJw] Potts, Louis W.: Arthur Lee: A Virtuous Revolutionary, https://amzn.to/4vpFLOF [https://amzn.to/4vpFLOF] Dowdey, Clifford: The Virginia Dynasties, https://amzn.to/4vlqoqN [https://amzn.to/4vlqoqN] Dowdey, Clifford: The Golden Age, https://amzn.to/3QbGNi4 [https://amzn.to/3QbGNi4] Dowdey, Clifford: The Great Plantation, https://amzn.to/4gdOxKR [https://amzn.to/4gdOxKR] Wright, Louis B.: The First Gentlemen of Virginia, https://amzn.to/4ekuR5z [https://amzn.to/4ekuR5z]

Founding Brothers: How One Generation of Lees Won the Revolution and Built America

In the winter of 1750, the death of Thomas Lee left his six sons to inherit a massive empire of Tidewater land and transatlantic commerce—an inheritance that would ultimately forge them into the most formidable family alliance of the American Revolution. Steeped in the stern classical traditions of Greece and Rome, the five younger brothers—Thomas Ludwell, Richard Henry, Francis Lightfoot, William, and Arthur Lee—found themselves bound together by a shared Classical tradition, patriotic American outlook, and bitter domestic feud over their patrimony against their overbearing eldest brother, Philip Ludwell Lee. From the splendorous river wharves of Stratford Hall to the quiet gardens of Chantilly-on-the-Potomac, and from the legislative benches of Williamsburg and Philadelphia to the precarious courts of Europe, this chronicle follows five of the greatest men of the Lee Family of Virginia as they sacrificed their ease, fortune, and peace to win the American Revolution and build the American Republic. CHAPTERS: 0:00 The Death of Thomas Lee at Stratford Hall 3:15 How A Classical Education Created Four Founders 10:13 Philip Ludwell Lee—"Colonel Phil"—Takes Control 13:00 The Lee Brothers Work Together, But are Divided by Thomas's Will 21:15 Chantilly on the Potomac Becomes The Base of the Founding Brothers 23:12 How the Lee Brothers Helped Win the American Revolution 29:12 William and Arthur Abroad 33:05 The Cost of Revolution: Death and Disillusionment 38:18 The Legacy of the Lee Brothers of Stratform Hall Sources Referenced in this Episode: I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you would like to support the show at no added cost to yourself, you can do so by using the links below to order and read the sources I used to create this episode. Thanks! Nagel, Paul C.: The Lees of Virginia: Seven Generations of an American Dynasty, https://amzn.to/4uCI6o9 [https://amzn.to/4uCI6o9] Hendrick, Burton J.: The Lees of Virginia, https://amzn.to/4uCN4BF [https://amzn.to/4uCN4BF] Lee, Cazenove G. Jr.: Lee Chronicle: Studies of the Early Generations of the Lees, https://amzn.to/4vGzbDe [https://amzn.to/4vGzbDe] Dowdey, Clifford: The Virginia Dynasties, https://amzn.to/4vlqoqN [https://amzn.to/4vlqoqN] Dowdey, Clifford: The Golden Age, https://amzn.to/3QbGNi4 [https://amzn.to/3QbGNi4] Dowdey, Clifford: The Great Plantation, https://amzn.to/4gdOxKR [https://amzn.to/4gdOxKR] Wright, Louis B.: The First Gentlemen of Virginia, https://amzn.to/4ekuR5z [https://amzn.to/4ekuR5z] McGaughy, J. Kent: Richard Henry Lee of Virginia, https://amzn.to/4ewtGA4 [https://amzn.to/4ewtGA4] Burt, Nathaniel: First Families: The Making of an American Aristocracy, https://amzn.to/3Sopnj2 [https://amzn.to/3Sopnj2] Evans, Emory G.: A "Topping People": The Rise and Decline of Virginia's Old Political Elite, 1680-1790, https://amzn.to/43UPMaK [https://amzn.to/43UPMaK] Morton, Richard L.: Colonial Virginia VOLUME II Westward Expansion and Prelude to Revolution, 1710-1763, https://amzn.to/4vynVJw [https://amzn.to/4vynVJw] Potts, Louis W.: Arthur Lee: A Virtuous Revolutionary, https://amzn.to/4vpFLOF [https://amzn.to/4vpFLOF]

Father of Four Founding Fathers: Thomas Lee of Stratford Hall

How does a younger son, marginalized by primogeniture, forge America's most formidable revolutionary dynasty, siring four of the greatest Founding Fathers and two signers of the Declaration of Independence? This is the epic saga of Thomas Lee, the father of the Founding Fathers, builder of Stratford Hall, and great frontier fortune builder. Listen ad-free here: https://www.theamericantribune.news/p/father-of-four-founding-fathers-thomas [https://www.theamericantribune.news/p/father-of-four-founding-fathers-thomas] Before his sons shook the foundations of the British Empire, a single man conquered the isolating stillness of the early Virginia wilderness. Born in 1690 at Machodoc plantation to Richard Lee II, Thomas taught himself the ancient classics by candlelight, cultivating an aggressive, unyielding genius for land, trade, and politics. In 1711, at the remarkably raw age of twenty-one, he supplanted Robert "King" Carter, becoming the resident agent for Lady Fairfax's five-million-acre Northern Neck Proprietary. For years, Thomas lived in the saddle, mapping critical river access and scouting the uncultivated frontier so he could patent prime territories for himself—including massive holdings near the Great Falls of the Potomac. In 1722, he wed the aristocratic heiress Hannah Harrison Ludwell, anchoring his branch of the Lee Family of Virginia to the highest tier of Tidewater society. But the fragile peace of the colony was shattered on a bitter winter night in 1729 when a gang of transported convicts, whom Thomas had strictly punished as a local magistrate, set his Machadoc plantation manor house ablaze. The family narrowly escaped into the freezing night as their home, commercial stores, and cherished library were entirely reduced to cinders. Rising from the ashes, Thomas—supported by the exceptional talents of his wife, Hannah—finished constructing his fortress-like brick masterpiece upon the Potomac cliffs: Stratford Hall. While Hannah directed this flourishing plantation and center of trade, Thomas ascended to the apex of colonial power, serving in the House of Burgesses before being appointed to the elite, life-appointed Governor's Council. He then became one of the great men pushing expansion to the West. In 1744, he negotiated the historic Treaty of Lancaster with the Six Nations and organized the Ohio Company, boldly claiming a continental empire for the British Crown. By 1749, he reached the zenith of colonial politics as Acting Governor of Virginia. He died in 1750, leaving behind a vast estate and six sons whose inherited defiance would ultimately ignite the American Revolution. This is the tale of how one man's relentless ambition laid the physical, financial, and political foundations of a republic. CHAPTERS: 0:00 Thomas Lee of Stratford Hall: Father of the Founding Fathers 1:44 Thomas Lee's Early Life as a Younger Son 6:15 How Thomas Lee Became the Agent for the Fairfax Proprietorship, and Used It to Build a Fortune 15:26 Thomas Lee's Marriage to Hannah Ludwell Lee 17:08 Fire and Ruin: The Convicts Cause Damage 22:03 Stratford Hall: Building a Plantation 33:36 Thomas Lee's Rise to the Top of Virginia Politics 36:45 Thomas Lee's Western Empire Vision: The Treaty of Lancaster and the Ohio Company 42:19 The First Virginian: Thomas Lee Becomes Acting Governor of Virginia 44:11 His Final Years and Legacy Sources Referenced in this Episode: I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you would like to support the show at no added cost to yourself, you can do so by using the links below to order and read the sources I used to create this episode. Thanks! Nagel, Paul C.: The Lees of Virginia: Seven Generations of an American Dynasty, https://amzn.to/4uCI6o9 [https://amzn.to/4uCI6o9] Hendrick, Burton J.: The Lees of Virginia, https://amzn.to/4uCN4BF [https://amzn.to/4uCN4BF] Lee, Cazenove G. Jr.: Lee Chronicle: Studies of the Early Generations of the Lees, https://amzn.to/4vGzbDe [https://amzn.to/4vGzbDe] Dowdey, Clifford: The Virginia Dynasties, https://amzn.to/4vlqoqN [https://amzn.to/4vlqoqN] Dowdey, Clifford: The Golden Age, https://amzn.to/3QbGNi4 [https://amzn.to/3QbGNi4] Dowdey, Clifford: The Great Plantation, https://amzn.to/4gdOxKR [https://amzn.to/4gdOxKR] Wright, Louis B.: The First Gentlemen of Virginia, https://amzn.to/4ekuR5z [https://amzn.to/4ekuR5z] McGaughy, J. Kent: Richard Henry Lee of Virginia, https://amzn.to/4ewtGA4 [https://amzn.to/4ewtGA4] Burt, Nathaniel: First Families: The Making of an American Aristocracy, https://amzn.to/3Sopnj2 [https://amzn.to/3Sopnj2] Evans, Emory G.: A "Topping People": The Rise and Decline of Virginia's Old Political Elite, 1680-1790, https://amzn.to/43UPMaK [https://amzn.to/43UPMaK] Morton, Richard L.: Colonial Virginia VOLUME II Westward Expansion and Prelude to Revolution, 1710-1763, https://amzn.to/4vynVJw [https://amzn.to/4vynVJw] Potts, Louis W.: Arthur Lee: A Virtuous Revolutionary, https://amzn.to/4vpFLOF [https://amzn.to/4vpFLOF] Image credits: Lee Family Coat of Arms based on Glasshouse using elements by Sodacan, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Theodor de Bry, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons By MamaGeek at English Wikipedia, CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4255589 By I, MamaGeek, CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2523197 [https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2523197] By Mobilus In Mobili - https://www.flickr.com/photos/mobili/25412267772/, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57303158 [https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57303158] By Codex Sinaiticus at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57703516 [https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57703516] By Ron Cogswell - The Governor's Palace -- Williamsburg (VA) September 2012, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=47502435