Patrick Henry

Patrick Henry was born in 1736 in Hanover County, Virginia, the son of a Scottish-born planter and county official, and was educated mostly by his father. He failed at storekeeping and farming before teaching himself law, and he was admitted to the bar in 1760. He became famous in 1763 in the Parson's Cause, a case in which he argued that the king had no right to overrule a law passed by Virginia's legislature. Elected to the House of Burgesses, he introduced resolutions against the Stamp Act in 1765. He served in the First Continental Congress, and in March 1775, at a convention in St. John's Church in Richmond, he urged Virginia to raise a militia, ending his speech, according to later accounts, with the words 'Give me liberty, or give me death!' In 1776 he became the first governor of independent Virginia, serving five one-year terms in all. He opposed ratification of the United States Constitution, fearing a strong central government, and pressed for the amendments that became the Bill of Rights. He died at his plantation, Red Hill, in 1799.

Patrick Henry is also an author in the library: author page and works.

Faith: An Anglican with deep religious beliefs who fought for religious liberty in Virginia. Source: Wikipedia