11 Facts About Richard Bland

1.

Richard Bland served more than 30 years in the House of Burgesses, Virginia's colonial legislative assembly.

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2.

In 1766, Richard Bland wrote an influential pamphlet questioning the right of the British Parliament to impose taxes on colonists without their consent.

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3.

Richard Bland's father, Richard Bland I, was a member of one of the patriarchal First Families of Virginia and was related to many of the others.

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4.

Richard Bland married Anne Poythress, the daughter of Colonel Peter and Ann Poythress, from Henrico County, Virginia.

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5.

Richard Bland served as a justice of the peace in Prince George County and was made a militia officer in 1739.

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6.

Richard Bland frequently served on committees whose role was to negotiate or frame laws and treaties.

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7.

Sometimes described as a bookish scholar as well as farmer, Richard Bland read law and was admitted to the Virginia bar in 1746.

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8.

Richard Bland did not practice before the courts but collected legal documents and became known for his expertise in Virginia and British history and law.

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9.

Richard Bland's first widely distributed public paper came as a result of the Parson's Cause, which was a debate from 1759 to 1760 over the established church and the kind and rate of taxes used to pay the Anglican clergy.

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10.

Richard Bland believed that reconciliation with England was still possible and desirable.

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11.

Richard Bland served on the committee which drafted Virginia's first constitution in 1776.

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