A True Patriot Few of Us Know

I am down here in Williamsburg, VA for a few days, visiting the incredible living museum that is Colonial Williamsburg. It is so amazing to get to walk on the same streets and inside the same homes that Jefferson and Washington and Henry and so many others did.

But one great patriot who lived here that few of us know much about was Peyton Randolph, Speaker of the Virginia House of Burgesses and President of the Continental Congress.

If Randolph hadn’t died during the Second Continental Congress, it would have been he and not John Hancock who first signed the Declaration of Independence. And it very well may have been Randolph and not Washington who served as our first president. He was an immense figure in our Independence, and was truly beloved and admired by the other patriots.

The fact that, for many of us, Randolph has faded into the shadows of history reminds us that a lasting legacy is not the measure of a man’s importance. We hear too much today about how a leader will be remembered when the real question is, what has the leader achieved. Like many of those who fought for our independence, Randolph was not possessed of a desire for fame. He was possessed of a desire for freedom.

And, you know, I think that’s what a patriot is. Someone who believes in the promise of this country and is willing to give of themselves without promise of reward, even when the stakes are high.

So here’s to Peyton Randolph. An American we should all try to be more like.