Benjamin Harrison V was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 planter and revolutionary

American Revolution

The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...

 leader from Charles City County, Virginia

Charles City County, Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 6,926 people, 2,670 households, and 1,975 families residing in the county. The population density was 38 people per square mile . There were 2,895 housing units at an average density of 16 per square mile...

. He earned his higher education at the College of William and Mary

College of William and Mary

The College of William & Mary in Virginia is a public research university located in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States...

, and he was perhaps the first figure in the Harrison family

Harrison family

The Harrison family is a prominent political family in U.S. history. Most famously, this family produced numerous Governors of Virginia , as well as two U.S. Presidents: William Henry Harrison and Benjamin Harrison.The family has a longer recorded heritage in politics, however...

 to gain national attention. Harrison was a representative for Surry County, Virginia

Surry County, Virginia

As of the census of 2010, there were 7,058 people, 2,619 households, and 1,917 families residing in the county. The population density was 24 people per square mile . There were 3,294 housing units at an average density of 12 per square mile...

, (1756–1758) and Charles City County (1766–1776) to the House of Burgesses

House of Burgesses

The House of Burgesses was the first assembly of elected representatives of English colonists in North America. The House was established by the Virginia Company, who created the body as part of an effort to encourage English craftsmen to settle in North America...

. He was a Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

 delegate to the Continental Congress

Continental Congress

The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....

 from 1774 to 1777 and, during the Second Continental Congress

Second Continental Congress

The Second Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that started meeting on May 10, 1775, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, soon after warfare in the American Revolutionary War had begun. It succeeded the First Continental Congress, which met briefly during 1774,...

, was a signer of the Declaration of Independence

United States Declaration of Independence

The Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. John Adams put forth a...

.

John Adams

John Adams

John Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...

 in his diary recalled Harrison as having said that he was so eager to participate in the Continental Congress "he would have come on foot." Adams also commented that "Harrison's contributions and many pleasantries steadied rough sessions." Harrison served frequently as Chairman of the Committee of the Whole

Committee of the Whole

A Committee of the Whole is a device in which a legislative body or other deliberative assembly is considered one large committee. All members of the legislative body are members of such a committee...

 in the Continental Congress, presided over the final debates on an independence resolution offered by Virginia delegate Richard Henry Lee

Richard Henry Lee

Richard Henry Lee was an American statesman from Virginia best known for the motion in the Second Continental Congress calling for the colonies' independence from Great Britain. He was a signatory to the Articles of Confederation and his famous resolution of June 1776 led to the United States...

, and presided as well as over the final debates and amendments to the Declaration itself.

On June 28, 1776, Jefferson's draft including initial alterations of a Declaration of Independence was reported to Congress by the Committee of Five

Committee of Five

The Committee of Five of the Second Continental Congress drafted and presented to the Congress what became known as America's Declaration of Independence of July 4, 1776...

 charged with the initial drafting; Congress then "laid it on the table".