Orator and political leader, born in Hanover Co, Virginia, USA. He took up law in 1760 after failures in business and farming. He vigorously opposed the Stamp Act (1765), and was a delegate to the First and Second Continental Congresses. In 1775 he proposed revolutionary motions to the Virginia assembly, including one for the arming and training of militiamen. He carried the day with a speech that included I do not know what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death. He was governor of Virginia (17769, 17846) and he opposed the new Constitution (1787) because he felt it endangered individuals' and states' rights. He retired from public life in 1788 and refused several offers of posts in the federal government. He was influential in the creation of the Bill of Rights (1791). Although he became reactionary in his later years, his dramatic presence was considered to be integral to the early patriot cause.
For other people with this name, see Patrick Henry (disambiguation).Patrick Henry (May 29, 1736 – June 6, 1799) was a prominent figure in the American Revolution, known and remembered primarily for his "Give me liberty or give me death" speech.
Biography
The picture of Henry by Peter F. Rothermel shows Henry throwing down his glove, which is a traditional sign for a fight. Henry technically lost the case, but damages were set at such a nominally low level that the result was widely perceived to be a victory for the independence movement. Perhaps in part because of his success in this venture, Henry was elected to the House of Burgesses (the legislative body of the Virginia colony) in 1765. That same year, he proposed the Virginia Stamp Act Resolutions. Henry probably did not say the famous last line of the above quote, i.e. 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. 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! This speech is credited by some with single-handedly 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.
Early in the Revolutionary War, Henry led militia against Royal Governor Lord Dunmore in defense of some disputed gunpowder, an event known as the Gunpowder Incident. During the war, he served as the first post-colonial Governor of Virginia, from 1776-79, an office he held again from 1784-86.
After the Revolution, Henry was an outspoken critic of the United States Constitution and urged against its adoption, arguing it gave the federal government too much power. He strongly supported John Marshall and at the urging of Washington stood for the House of Delegates in 1799 as a staunch Federalist. He especially denounced the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions, which had been secretly written by Jefferson and Madison, and approved by the legislatures of those two states. He warned that civil war was threatened because Virginia, "had quitted the sphere in which she had been placed by the Constitution, and, in daring to pronounce upon the validity of federal laws, had gone out of her jurisdiction in a manner not warranted by any authority, and in the highest degree alarming to every considerate man; that such opposition, on the part of Virginia, to the acts of the general government, must beget their enforcement by military power; that this would probably produce civil war, civil war foreign alliances, and that foreign alliances must necessarily end in subjugation to the powers called in." [Tyler, 413-20] He died at Red Hill Plantation, Virginia, in 1799 at the age of 63.
Trivia
Patrick Henry's sister was the grandmother of Confederate General Joseph E.Monuments and memorials
His home and gravesite has been designated Red Hill Patrick Henry National Memorial. The United States Navy submarine USS Patrick Henry (SSBN-599) and the CSS Patrick Henry of the Confederate Navy were named in his honor, as was the first WWII Liberty ship, the SS Patrick Henry. Henry College in Emory, Va., eight high schools (including three in Virginia, more than for any other person in the Commonwealth) and Patrick Henry College in Purcellville, VA are also named in his honor. The Patrick Henry Boys and Girls Plantation was established as a living legacy to Patrick Henry on property near his grave site donated by the Red Hill Patrick Henry National Memorial. Henry helped to establish the Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia. Six of Patrick Henry's sons graduated from Hampden-Sydney. Future United States president William Henry Harrison also graduated from the College in 1791.Other places named in honor of Patrick Henry include:
Henry County, Virginia Henry County, Kentucky Patrick County, Virginia Henry County, Georgia Henry County, Ohio Henry County, Tennessee Henry County, Alabama Henry County, Illinois Henry County, Missouri after an 1841 name change
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