The American political leader Edmund Pendleton (1721-1803) became a liberal among the Virginia gentry, of which he was a part.

Edmund Pendleton was born into the Virginia colony's elite on Sept. 9, 1721. However, his father's early death and the subsequent loss of the family's property left Pendleton to shift for himself. His upper-class origins eventually served him well, but his early years were ones of struggle. His education came through apprenticeship to a county clerk, and his law degree was similarly gained. Only in 1752, on his election to the House of Burgesses, did his pedigree become significant. Thereafter, as he recouped his family's lost wealth, he took his place among Virginia's gentlemen.

As the Colonies' rupture with England widened, Pendleton emerged as a staunch opponent of the mother country. This role had carried him to the forefront of Virginia politics by the outbreak of the Revolution. He was designated...