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Vote: | Are we at last brought to such humiliating and debasing degradation, that we cannot be trusted with arms for our defense? |
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Vote: | For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst and provide for it. |
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Vote: | Give me liberty or give me death. |
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Vote: | Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are inevitably ruined. |
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Vote: | I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided; and that is the lamp of experience. I know of no way of judging the future but by the past. |
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Vote: | I have now disposed of all my property to my family. There is one thing more I wish I could give them, and that is the Christian religion. |
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Vote: | I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death. |
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Vote: | I know of know way of judging the future but by the past. |
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Vote: | Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death! |
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Vote: | Perfect freedom is as necessary to the health and vigor of commerce as it is to the health and vigor of citizenship. |
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Vote: | Religion I have disposed of all my property to my family. There is one thing more I wish I could give to them, and that is the Christian religion. If they had that and I had not given them one cent, they would be rich. If they have not that, and I had given them the world, they would be poor. |
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Vote: | The great object is that every man be armed. |
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Vote: | The liberties of a people never were, nor ever will be, secure, when the transactions of their rulers may be concealed from them. |
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Vote: | We are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of Nature has placed in our power... the battle, sir, is not to the strong alone it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. |
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Biography
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Patrick Henry (May 29, 1736 – June 6, 1799) was a prominent figure in the American Revolution. Along with Samuel Adams and Thomas Paine, he was one of the most influential (and radical) advocates of revolution.
Biography
Trained as an attorney, and noted for his heated oratorical skills, this Virginian first made a name for himself in a case dubbed the "Parson's Cause" (1763) which was an argument on whether the price of tobacco paid to clergy for their services should be set by the colonial government or by the Crown. Henry won the case, to the consternation of the British government.
Perhaps in part because of his success in this venture, Henry was elected to the House of Burgesses (legislative body of the Virginia colony) in 1765. That same year, he proposed the Virginia Stamp Act Resolutions. The freshman representative waited for an opportunity where the mostly conservative members of the House were away (only 24% was considered sufficient for a quorum). In this atmosphere, he succeeded, through much debate and persuasion, in getting his proposal passed. It was possibly the most anti-British (many called it "treasonous") American political action to that point, and some credit the Resolutions with being one of the main catalysts of the Revolution.
The proposals were based on principles that were well established British rights, such as the right to be taxed by one's own representatives. They went further, however, to assert that the colonial assemblies had the exclusive right to impose taxes on the colonies and could not assign that right. The imputation of treason is due to his inflammatory words, "Caesar had his Brutus; Charles the First his Cromwell; and George the Third—" [Cries of "Treason! Treason!"] "George the Third may profit by their example. If this be treason, make the most of it."
According to biographer Richard Beeman, the legend of this speech grew more dramatic over the years. Henry probably did not say the famous last line of the above quote, i.e. "If this be treason, make the most of it." The only account of the speech written down at the time by an eyewitness (which came to light many years later) records that Henry actually apologized after being accused of uttering treasonable words, assuring the House that he was still loyal to the king. Nevertheless, Henry's passionate, radical speech caused quite a stir at the time, even if we cannot be certain of his exact words.
Henry is perhaps best known for the speech he made in the House of Burgesses on March 23, 1775, urging that legislature to take military action against the encroaching British military force. The House was deeply divided, but was very much leaning toward not committing troops. As Henry stood in Saint John's Church in Richmond, Virginia, he ended his speech with his most famous words;
The crowd jumped up and shouted "To Arms! To Arms!". This speech is credited by some with singlehandedly delivering the Virginia troops to the Revolutionary War. Problematically, the text of this speech did not appear in print until 1817, in the biography Life and Character of Patrick Henry by William Wirt. Although Wirt assembled his book from recollections by persons close to the events, some historians have since speculated that the speech, or at least the form with which we are familiar, was essentially written by Wirt decades after the fact. (Ray Raphael, Founding Myths)
During the Revolution, Henry led a military force in defense of Virginia, chiefly in defense of some disputed gunpowder coveted by the British.
After the Revolution, Henry was an outspoken critic of the Constitution and urged against its adoption, arguing it gave the federal government too much power. As a leading Antifederalist, he was instrumental in the adoption of the Bill of Rights to amend the new Constitution.
He served as the first Governor of Virginia, from 1776-79, and again from 1784-86.
In the later years of his life, Henry was a key figure in a major land speculation scandal involving the Yazoo lands in what was then the western territory of Georgia.
He died at Red Hill Plantation, Virginia, in 1799 at the age of 63.
The United States Navy submarine USS Patrick Henry (SSBN-599) and the CSS Patrick Henry of the Confederate Navy were named in his honor.
...(more on Wikipedia)
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Patrick Henry".
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