Page:The Presidents of the United States, 1789-1914, v. II.djvu/54

 32 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS seat in that body. As a member of all the Vir ginia conventions to organize resistance, he acted with the party led by Pendleton in favor of &quot;gen eral united opposition.&quot; On June 10, 1776, as chairman of the committee of the whole house of congress, he introduced the resolution that had been offered three days before by Richard Henry Lee, declaring the independence of the American col onies, and on July 4 he reported the Declaration of Independence, of which he was one of the signers. On his return from congress he became a member of the Virginia house of delegates under the new constitution, was chosen speaker, filling that office until 1781, when he was twice elected governor of the commonwealtli. As a delegate to the Virginia convention of 1788, he opposed the ratification of the Federal constitution, taking the ground of Patrick Henry, James Monroe, and others, that it was a national and not a Federal government, though when the instrument was adopted he gave it his hearty support. At the time of his death he was a member of the Virginia legis lature. In person Benjamin Harrison was large and fleshy ; and, in spite of his suffering from gout, of unfailing good humor. Although without con spicuous intellectual endowments, he was a man of excellent judgment and the highest sense of honor, with a courage and cheerfulness that never faltered, and a &quot;downright candor&quot; and sincerity