PATRICK HENRY

Hanover County, Virginia
May 29, 1736−June 6, 1799
Master of Sound Bites

When Patrick Henry spoke, people listened. And he had plenty of opportunities to speak. He was a lawyer, legislator, five-term governor of Virginia, and a vociferous proponent of the right to bear arms. Most importantly, he was a champion for liberty and America’s greatest cheerleader for independence. His name is attached to ships, monuments, and other public structures. Henry may not be the most famous Founding Father, but his quotes are among the most recognized.

A Self-Taught Lawyer

Patrick Henry’s father, John, provided him with homeschooling that included a background in Latin. When it came to learning law, Patrick taught himself. He also acquired well-developed persuasive skills as a youth, which came in handy when he took his bar examination and throughout his political life.

Even though he had no formal training in the law, Henry easily passed his bar exam in 1760. He set up a practice in Williamsburg, Virginia, which flourished quickly.

Henry came to prominence in 1763 when he argued the Parson’s Cause in Hanover County, which was one of the first indications of a schism between Britain and the colonies. The case involved the relationship between tobacco and Anglican clergymen’s pay. A 1748 Virginia law allowed the clergymen to be paid in tobacco—16,000 pounds each per year. Normally, the market price for tobacco was two cents a pound. That is what the clergymen grew accustomed to, even though they thought they were underpaid. But due to droughts in 1759 and 1760, the market price of tobacco soared when the scarcity of the product created a seller’s market. That created a conflict with the unpopular Two Penny Act the Virginia House of Burgesses had passed in 1758, which mandated that debts in tobacco were to be paid in currency at two pennies per pound. The ramifications of the law upset the clergymen in the early 1760s; they thought they should be paid according to the higher market price. The clergymen appealed to British authorities, and King George vetoed the bill. The Virginia legislators interpreted the veto as an infringement on their right to self-rule.

One clergyman, James Maury, sued the county on his counterparts’ behalf for back pay to compensate for the uptick in the market price of tobacco in 1759 and 1760. Patrick Henry, still a novice attorney at the time, argued the county’s case. He focused on British interference in local politics as a central issue in the case, claiming that local law took precedence, and urged the jury to award Maury only one penny in damages. He was vociferous against British interference in his oratories during the trial.

Quotations to Live (and Die) By!

“A KING, BY DISALLOWING ACTS OF THIS SALUTARY NATURE, FROM BEING THE FATHER OF HIS PEOPLE, DEGENERATED INTO A TYRANT AND FORFEITS ALL RIGHT TO HIS SUBJECTS’ OBEDIENCE.”

—PATRICK HENRY

In the end, the jury agreed with him. Henry won the case for the county and the clergy gave up their protest. Young Henry earned a reputation as an outspoken critic of British interference in domestic issues and established a pattern of arguing for the colonies’ right to independence. From that point on, Henry was in demand as a lawyer. The next step in his career was entering the political stage.

Patrick the Politician

In 1765, Henry was elected to the House of Burgesses, where he became an ardent supporter of the right to bear arms. The young firebrand was not popular at first, especially when he introduced five resolutions against the Stamp Act on May 30, 1765. The burgesses were for the most part still loyal to the king, and many of them considered Henry a traitor. He won them over, though, and the burgesses adopted four of his resolutions. Henry’s persuasive skills had nudged Virginia down the path to rebellion and independence. Moreover, he established his position as Virginia’s leader in its battle for independence.

Quotations to Live (and Die) By!

“THE GREAT OBJECT IS, THAT EVERY MAN BE ARMED.”

—PATRICK HENRY

For the next ten years, Henry urged his fellow Virginians to throw off their allegiance to the king and push for their independence. He advised them to arm themselves, especially after word reached Virginia about the skirmishes between British troops and Massachusetts patriots.

Henry expanded his sphere of influence outside Virginia in the 1770s. He was one of Virginia’s seven delegates to the First Continental Congress. Henry was assigned to several committees, but it was his speaking skills that earned him notice when he introduced the idea of a unified America.

Quotations to Live (and Die) By!

“THE DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN VIRGINIANS, PENNSYLVANIANS, NEW YORKERS, AND NEW ENGLANDERS, ARE NO MORE. I AM NOT A VIRGINIAN, BUT AN AMERICAN.”

—PATRICK HENRY AT THE FIRST CONTINENTAL CONGRESS IN 1774

Henry hit the high mark of his oratorical skills in March 1775 in his famous “Give me liberty or give me death” speech in Richmond, Virginia. The words he used were typical of his pleas to Virginians to arm themselves for self-defense. His views were remarkable, since Henry was a Quaker, and Quakers were (and are) pacifists.

Quotations to Live (and Die) By!

“IS LIFE SO DEAR, OR PEACE SO SWEET, AS TO BE PURCHASED AT THE PRICE OF CHAINS OR SLAVERY? FORBID IT, ALMIGHTY GOD! I KNOW NOT WHAT COURSE OTHERS MAY TAKE; BUT AS FOR ME, GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE
ME DEATH!”

—PATRICK HENRY AT ST. JOHN’S CHURCH, RICHMOND, VIRGINIA, MARCH 23, 1775

Virginia’s royal governor John Dunmore, fearing an armed rebellion, ordered the removal of some gunpowder from a Williamsburg magazine. Henry the orator morphed into Henry the militia leader. Shortly after the British marched on Concord, Massachusetts, Henry forced Dunmore to return the gunpowder. Any chance of a reconciliation between the two leaders ended. Dunmore returned to England in July 1776. He retained his title, but his authority left the colonies with him.

A Statesman, Not a Soldier

Henry had a brief military career during the Revolutionary War, but he never served in the field. Since he did not have any significant military experience, that was probably a good thing. His peers were sure he would be more valuable as a statesman.

Henry served as Virginia’s governor from 1776 to 1779, and again from 1784 to 1786. In the interim, he was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates. One of his preoccupations in the 1780s was fighting ratification of the proposed U.S. Constitution. Henry favored strong state governments and a weak federal government, whereas the U.S. Constitution being offered advocated just the opposite. It passed despite his opposition.

Patrick Henry’s spirit was sorely missed in Virginia after his death in 1799. Even though he had performed most of his public service in his home state, his contributions were felt nationally—and the words for which he is best known, “Give me liberty or give me death,” still resonate today.

FEDERAL FACTS

Virginia became the tenth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution via an 89−79 vote on June 25, 1788.