Patrick Henry was a rare man - a gifted speaker and a fearless political leader. Convinced his cause was righteous, Patrick Henry was willing to set the world on fire . . . and to some extent, he did.
In 1765, after the passage of the Stamp Act, Henry was one of the first colonial politicians to criticize British Parliament. He blasted King George III in a speech inside Virginia's House of Burgesses and was accused of "treason" by Virginia's leaders. But Henry did not back down.
In 1774, after the passage of the Intolerable Acts, Patrick Henry once again emerged as a leader in the fight against British aggression.
In 1775, as relations with the British continued to deteriorate, Patrick Henry convinced Virginia's leaders to create a militia and get ready for the inevitable war. The final words of his speech at the Second Virginia Convention became the battle cry of the American Revolution: "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!"
One month after Henry's famous speech, the first gunshot of the War for Independence pierced the morning air in Lexington, Massachusetts. We'll cover that in another video.
For more background on the Sugar Act, Stamp Act, Townshend Duties, and other taxes leading up to Henry's fiery speech, check out our video here: • How to Start a Revolut... .
The content of this video is drawn from multiple sources, but the principal source is Patrick Henry: Life, Correspondence, and Speeches by William Wirt Henry.
Most images are taken from the free website commons.wikime....
The image of Patrick Henry's handwritten copy of the 1765 Virginia Resolves is taken from the Library of Congress at www.loc.gov/it....
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15 сен 2024
