1736-1799 · Virginia lawyer, revolutionary orator and first governor of independent Virginia
About Patrick Henry
Patrick Henry (1736-1799) was a Virginia lawyer and planter who won fame in the Parsons' Cause (1763) and in the House of Burgesses, where his Stamp Act resolutions of 1765 made him a leader of resistance to Parliament. He served in the Continental Congress, became the first governor of independent Virginia in 1776, and later led the opposition to ratifying the Constitution in the Virginia convention of 1788, pressing for the amendments that became the Bill of Rights.
“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!”
delivered 1775; text published 1817 · 18th Century · Oratory
On 23 March 1775 the Second Virginia Convention, meeting in St. John's Church in Richmond to stay clear of the royal governor at Williamsburg, debated Patrick Henry's resolutions to put the colony into a posture of defense by forming and arming a militia. Several respected delegates had urged patience while petitions to the king were pending.