Thomas Sim Lee (October 29, 1745 – November 9, 1819) was an American planter and statesman of
Frederick County, Maryland. Although not a signatory to the
Declaration of Independence
A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of th ...
, the
Articles of Confederation or the
U.S. Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the nation ...
, he was an important participant in the process of their creation. Thomas Sim Lee was the second State Governor of Maryland, serving twice, from 1779 to 1783 and again from 1792 to 1794. Thomas Sim Lee also served as a delegate of Maryland in the
Congress of the Confederation in 1783 and was a member of the
House of Delegates in 1787. He worked closely with many of the
Founding fathers and himself played an important part in the birth of his state and the nation.
Family
Lee was born in 1745 in
Upper Marlboro in the
Province of Maryland. He was the son of Thomas (died 1749) and Christiana (Sim) Lee, a grandson of
Philip Lee, and descended from the "
Blenheim" Line of the
Lee family of Virginia.
Richard Lee I
Richard Lee I (1618 – 1 March 1664) (later nicknamed "The Immigrant") was the first member of the Lee family to live in America (although he also considered himself an English gentleman). Poor when he arrived in Virginia in 1639 on a ship w ...
was his great-great-grandfather. His education was attained in the private schools of his native colony. On October 27, 1771, Thomas Sim Lee married
Mary Digges (1745–1805), whose father was a prominent Maryland landowner. They had eight children;
*Ignatius Lee (born 1772)
*Thomas Lee (1774–1826)
*William Lee (1775–1845)
*Eliza Lee (born c. 1777)
*Archibald Lee (1778–1781)
*Archibald Lee (1781–1839)
*Mary Christian Lee (born c. 1783)
*Elizabeth Digges Lee (1783–1862) – married
Outerbridge Horsey
Outerbridge Horsey III (March 5, 1777 – June 9, 1842) was an American lawyer and politician from Wilmington, Delaware. He was a member of the Federalist Party, who served in the Delaware General Assembly, as Attorney General of Delaware (18 ...
in 1812.
*
John Lee John Lee may refer to:
Academia
* John Lee (astronomer) (1783–1866), president of the Royal Astronomical Society
* John Lee (university principal) (1779–1859), University of Edinburgh principal
* John Lee (pathologist) (born 1961), English ...
(1788–1871)
Public life
During the
Revolutionary War, he backed the
patriot cause, and organized a
local militia in which he served as
colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...
. Lee entered politics in 1777, serving as a member of the Maryland Legislature, a position he held two years. He was a delegate to the
Maryland State Convention of 1788, to vote whether Maryland should ratify the proposed
Constitution of the United States
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the natio ...
.
The Maryland Legislature elected Lee governor in 1779. He was reelected in 1780 and 1781. During his first tenure, issues regarding the war effort were dealt with. He won wide praise for his logistical abilities as governor. Lee consistently procured fresh troops and supplies for the
Continental Army.
George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...
was Lee's friend, and learning of the plan to pin down
Cornwallis
Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805), styled Viscount Brome between 1753 and 1762 and known as the Earl Cornwallis between 1762 and 1792, was a British Army general and official. In the United S ...
, Lee exerted all his energies to support the American troops. After completing his term, Lee left office on November 22, 1782. He then served in the Continental Congress in 1783 and 1784, and was a member of the State convention that ratified the U.S. Constitution in 1788. In 1792, Lee was again elected governor of Maryland. He was reelected to a second term in 1793, and to a third term in 1794. During his final tenure, the state militia was established, and the
Whiskey rebellion
The Whiskey Rebellion (also known as the Whiskey Insurrection) was a violent tax protest in the United States beginning in 1791 and ending in 1794 during the presidency of George Washington. The so-called "whiskey tax" was the first tax impo ...
was suppressed. Lee left office on November 14, 1794. Later that same year, he declined a seat in the U.S. Senate. He also declined a third tenure as governor in 1798.
Leader in the struggle for independence
Thomas Sim Lee was one of the participants of the
Annapolis Convention in the mid-1770s, which produced a constitution for Maryland and transformed the colony into a state. On July 26, 1775, he was one of the signatories of the
Declaration of the Association of the Freemen of Maryland, an influential statement in the
Revolutionary War.
Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union
As Governor of Maryland, Thomas Sim Lee signed the Act on February 2, 1781, whereby the
Maryland Legislature
The Maryland General Assembly is the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland that convenes within the Maryland State House, State House in Annapolis. It is a bicameral body: the upper house, upper chambe ...
ratified the
Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union
The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union was an agreement among the 13 Colonies of the United States of America that served as its first frame of government. It was approved after much debate (between July 1776 and November 1777) by ...
. As Maryland was the 13th and final state to ratify the Articles, the act established the ''requisite unanimous consent'' for the formation of a
Perpetual Union
The Perpetual Union is a feature of the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, which established the United States of America as a political entity. Under modern American constitutional law this means that U.S. states are not permitted t ...
of the states.
Prior to this event, Maryland had held out and refused to ratify the Articles until every state had ceded its
western land claims. After Governor
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the natio ...
signed the Act of the
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
legislature on January 2, 1781, to grant these concessions the way forward for Maryland was cleared. On this second day of February, a Friday, as the last piece of business during the afternoon Session, "among engrossed Bills" was "signed and sealed by the Governor, in the Senate Chamber, in the presence of the members of both Houses...an Act to empower the delegates of this state in Congress to subscribe and ratify the articles of confederation." The Senate then adjourned "to the first Monday in August next". The formal signing of the Articles by the Maryland delegates took place in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
at noon time on March 1, 1781. With these events, the Articles entered into force and the United States came into being as a united and
sovereign nation.
Member of the Congress of the Confederation
In his post-governor career, Thomas Sim Lee represented
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
as a delegate to the
Continental Congress in 1783 and 1784. He also was a member of the house of delegates in 1787. He declined the opportunity to serve in the convention that drafted the
Constitution of the United States
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the natio ...
, but served in the state convention that ratified the Constitution in 1788. Lee voted for Washington's second term as a Federalist presidential elector.
The contribution of his wife
Governor Lee's wife,
Mary Digges Lee, responded to the need of the Revolutionary War troops from Maryland by rallying the women of Maryland to raise money in support of the war effort. She then established a correspondence with General
George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...
, asking how these resources could be put to best use. General Washington responded suggesting that the money raised be put toward the purchase of much-needed shirts and black neck clothes for the troops in the Southern army. He expressed gratitude to Mrs. Lee for the ''"patriotic exertions of the ladies of Maryland in favor of the army"''.
The couple was very active in patriotic activities during the Revolutionary War. They were also very committed to their religious and community ties. They founded the
St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church in
Petersville, Maryland.
Needwood and Georgetown
After retiring from political life in 1794, Governor Lee focused his attention on his estate, Needwood, in
Frederick County, Maryland, where he owned some two hundred
slaves.
Lee set up a winter home in
Georgetown, near the nation's capital.
Federalists
The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters called themselves ''Federalists''.
History Europe federation
In Europe, proponents of de ...
frequented the home, which became a meeting place for them.
Thomas Sim Lee was on the Board of directors of the
Patowmack Canal
The Patowmack Canal, sometimes called the Potomac Canal, is a series of five inoperative canals located in Maryland and Virginia, United States, that was designed to bypass rapids in the Potomac River upstream of the present Washington, D.C., ...
, which was intended by George Washington to connect the
Tidewater near
Georgetown with
Cumberland. The project, which started in 1785, was completed in 1802.
Death
Mary Digges Lee died on January 25, 1805, at the age of 60. Thomas Sim Lee remained a widower in Needwood until his death on November 9, 1819, at the age of 74 years. He was first buried at
Melwood Park, his wife's family home. In 1888 his and the Melwood Diggeses' graves were moved to a common grave in
Mt. Carmel Roman Catholic Cemetery near
Upper Marlboro, Maryland
Upper Marlboro, officially the Town of Upper Marlboro, is the seat of Prince George's County, Maryland. Aso of the 2020 census, the population was 652. although Greater Upper Marlboro is many times larger.
Etymology
Upper Marlboro was establ ...
.
Tribute
A bronze plaque commemorating his life has been placed on a house he built in 1790 on 3001–3009 M Street (on the corner of
M Street and
30th Street) in the
Georgetown section of Washington D.C.. The site is now referred to as the Thomas Sim Lee Corner.
The
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
Liberty Ship
Liberty ships were a class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Though British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost construction. Ma ...
was named in his honor.
Notes
References
*"Dictionary of American Biography." Vol. 11, New York: Scribner's, 1933, p. 132.
*Sobel, Robert, and John Raimo, eds. "Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789–1978, Vol. 2," Westport, Conn.; Meckler Books, 1978. 4 vols.
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Thomas Sim
1745 births
1819 deaths
American people of English descent
Governors of Maryland
Continental Congressmen from Maryland
Lee family of Virginia
People from Frederick County, Maryland
People of colonial Maryland
People from Upper Marlboro, Maryland
American planters
Maryland Federalists
Federalist Party state governors of the United States
18th-century American politicians
American slave owners
People from Georgetown (Washington, D.C.)
Burials in Maryland