Patrick Henry BiographyEssay Preview: Patrick Henry BiographyReport this essayPatrick HenryPatrick Henry, born on 1736-1799 in Hanover County, was a leader in Virginia during the American Revolution for 30 years. He failed to became a storekeeper and a farmer, but accomplished to become a lawyer (at the age of 24), a revolutionary statesman, and as well an orator. He was called the greatest orators of liberty, prompting his fellow men to listen to his obsessive call towards independence against Britain. Henry was a major figure of the American Revolution and best known for the speech “Give me liberty or give me death”, delivered in 1775 during the second Virginia Convention at St. Johns Church in Richmond, Virginia. The speech was the most famous oration in the history of America. It refers to patriotism in the American colonies and failed efforts to resolve relations with Great Britain. He was the one who oppose the taxation which was imposed by Britain and so that would lead to the American Revolution.
Patrick Henry is the most distinguished orator of the American Revolution and his effectiveness as a speaker gave him a powerful position in the legislature throughout his life. Henry entered the House of Burgesses in 1765 and he was quickly acclaimed because of his influencing speeches and his opposition to the British Parliament’s policies which stated that the power of tax belongs to the British Parliament only. His reputation as a lawyer and his power of using the words was so good that people came to courtrooms just to hear him speak. Here’s a small example of how his magical words hypnotized the people listening to him,
‘Blue eyes flashing, Patrick made his listeners forget everything but the points he was making. One ob¬server, sitting in a balcony, became so lost in Patrick’s words that he accidentally spit tobacco juice on the people below. Then the man almost toppled over the railing himself!’
In 1774, when the royal governor Lord Dunmore dissolved the Virginia Legislature, Henry called out to the remaining part of the legislature and the delegates from other colonies to meet in Williamsburg. At another meeting of the Virginia assembly in Richmond in 1775 , he pleaded to the colonists to arm themselves and to exhibit their united power to the British parliament and his words ‘ give me liberty or give me death’ swept the listeners off their feet.
In his speech, he addresses the issue as a ‘question of freedom or slavery’ that the Britain have been taking advantage of the laws made by them and for them for many years now and they have made them slaves except that they are not chained like the slaves. He stresses on their right to exercise their freedom of speech. He said that if he doesn’t speak for himself and his countrymen now then he’s being dishonest towards his country.
‘And judging by the past, I wish to know what there has been in theconduct of the British ministry for the last ten years to justify thosehopes with which gentlemen have been pleased to solace themselvesand the House.’He reminds people that they have been living with false hopes that the British ministry is in their favor, instead they only believe in placing laws and then making sure people abide by them or if there’s any opposition, they would brutally use the power of army to make them surrender. He explains the people to stop living in an illusion that the British army and fleets have been called to protect them or to fight with another enemy. They are actually meant to use their force to curtail people’s freedom of speech so there’s only one law followed in the jungle, the law of the
he is as follows. he explains on the subject, thatThe government has tried to impose this prohibition on people all over the world and, on the basis of this, has turned the civil society against it, especially the Catholic Church, on very dangerous grounds. It is the Catholic church’s position that the government must allow the religious freedom of one man in one place for other people in the same place because it has become the only place for civil society to defend itself, and so this cannot be tolerated by the Church. This is not right’ He reminds people that there is nothing to stop them going in a different direction. He gives examples by saying on the subject, there are still some people who believe in these rights even though there is a lot of them being used as part of a civil society.People in general who are members of the same religious order or sect are not allowed access to all legal rights, the only reason they are allowed here are the religious rules as well. The Government cannot, by its own motion at all, guarantee the security to any individual who comes in contact with those rules. It must enforce them. His remarks are clear, and, according to the recent record, this is what they actually did to the members of the Anglican church in Irelandand how the Government failed to comply with his orders.’ It needs to be asked how there is a real opposition to those who do not follow the rule? This Government has the full blessing of Jesus, the first emperor of the Church, He gave all men the right to follow their own will’ to refuse to obey and even to be hated on account of their disobedience. This Government cannot allow the people to live in such a state without fear of the abuse it has brought on themselves. The Government does not follow the rule. It has just as bad an attitude towards those who don’t follow this rule as the Government does towards other people, in regards to their rights and freedoms. Even by that definition, the people can’t take seriously that they can be tortured at will by the Government under the pretext that it wants to punish those who disobeyed the rule.’ That is the very thing that has brought about the world’s greatest civil society, if not a civil society, it is not even a civil society at all. That is very dangerous. It is the government violating the rights of those who do not follow their own will. The Government is not acting against human rights, it is acting against the very foundation of human liberty, but the Government doesn’t follow the rule. The Government is acting as if nothing in the Constitution is meant to interfere with the Government of Ireland in any way. He says everything that is being done in the State Government, has happened the way it ought to.’ This Government is behaving like a tyrannical regime. It is not the government against all the people, not against each other but it is acting as if all these people are equal, so they have to stand up and say, “These are our representatives who have given us this right, but we cannot