"Give me Liberty or give me death!"

Patrick Henry was born in Virginia in 1736. He was a planter from Virginia but became a self-taught lawyer. He was educated by his father and encouraged by his mother to attend religious meetings of the presbyterian community (his father was staunchly Anglican (that is to say the Church of England) and his uncle was a pastor in the Anglican church). Henry learned from these presbyterian ministers to speak to the heart rather than to logic and became a great orator (that means speaker). People enjoyed hearing him speak because he spoke with passion and clarity. One author who studied Henry's life wrote,

"Henry explained the Revolution to ordinary men and women through America in words they understood—and inspired them to fight for liberty."

Henry married Sarah Shelton in 1754 at 18 years old (she was sixteen). They had six children together. Sadly, Sarah became ill shortly after their last child's birth and she passed away in 1775. Henry avoided anything that reminded him of her and sold their family home, relocating his family.

It wasn't long before Henry was well known as a lawyer and then as a politician. Henry came to believe early that conflict with Great Britain and independence were inevitable. He was a member of the House of Burgesses in Virginia (the government of the colony at the time) when in 1774 word came that Parliament in Britain had voted to close the port of Boston in retaliation for the Boston Tea Party the previous December. This was an unfair act of control by Parliament. They did not consider how this would affect the colonies, but wanted to "teach them a lesson." It was a power struggle between Britain and Boston.

Fasting and Prayer

Upon hearing this news Patrick Henry, along with several others in the House of Burgesses convened at the Raleigh Tavern to formulate a response to the news. George Mason, was a former burgess from Fairfax County, Virginia, and also joined the committee. He remembered that Henry took the lead on this response and he and Henry became close in their political relationship. The committee ultimately came to the resolution that June 1, 1774, the date when the Port of Boston was to be closed, would be a day of fasting and prayer. Later they also called for a boycott of tea and other products.

These men were clearly listening for and open to inspiration. They were praying about what to do, showing their faith by fasting--indeed, they wanted help from heaven!

First Continental Congress

Henry was elected as one of the delegates to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia in September 1774. He was chosen as one of seven delegates, tying for second place with George Washington. Henry accepted the invitation to go to Mount Vernon (Washington's estate) and ride with him to Philadelphia.

Delegates and prominent Philadelphians took interest great in the Virginians. They were known for taking the lead in resistance against Britain (although most of the injustices had occurred in Massachusetts). Henry had only been north to New York on a business trip once in 1770 but he found that he as well as his actions were well-known! As the congress convened early in September at Carpenters' Hall, Silas Deane (a prominent delegate from Connecticut) described Henry as,

"The completest speaker I ever heard .... but in a letter I can give you no idea of the music of his voice, of the high wrought, yet natural elegance of his style or manner."

Charles Thomson, the secretary of the Congress, wrote that when Henry rose, he had expected little from a man who was dressed as plainly as a rural minister,

"But as he proceeded, [he] evinced such [an] unusual force of argument, and such novel and impassioned eloquence as soon electrified the whole house. Then the excited inquiry passed from man to man ... 'Who is it? Who is it?' The answer from the few who knew him was, it is Patrick Henry."[64]

On March 23, 1775 at the Second Virginia Convention Patrick Henry was 39 years old when he famously declared:

"I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!"

Watch more about Patrick Henry here!

Patrick Henry would later go on to serve as Governor of the great state of Virginia twice.