Essay About Patrick Henry And John Henry

Patrick Henry
Essay title: Patrick Henry
Patrick Henry Patrick Henry was a great patriot. He never used his fists or guns to fight
for his country, but he used a much more powerful weapon at which he held great skill:
his words. Possibly the greatest orator of his time, his speeches such as “Give Me Liberty
or Give Me Death” struck a cord in the American spirit of those who opposed oppression
and tyranny. Henry was born on May 29th, 1736 in Studley, Virginia. His schooling was
basic; elementary school, then trained in the classics by his father. His father, John Henry
was an well-educated Scotsman who was a surveyor, colonel, and justice of the local
county court. Still young, Patrick Henry first took up storekeeping in which he failed
twice, and then farming which also proved unsuccessful. Despite his early struggles he
then married Sara Shelton, and with the new responsibilities of marriage he took up the
practice of law. He was naturally talented in the new job and soon found himself very
successful. The first signs of his “oratorical genus” were shown in case in which he
represented Virginia asking for a change of law that had been disallowed by King George
III. After this case he was soon accepted as a member of the House of Burgesses. There
he delivered another famous speech opposing the Stamp Act. After concluded this speech
calls of “Treason! Treason!” rang though the hall, but Henry replied “If this be treason,
make the most of it.” Thus began the life of the Patriot Patrick Henry. Henry had strong
involvement in the rebellion from England all the way from his speech opposing the
Stamp Act through the end of the revolutionary war. He was on Virginia first Committee
of Correspondence, a delegate in the Continental Congresses, and was commander of
Virginian forces during wartime. During wartime he devised strategies that were not
looked