PATRICK HENRY, THE ORATOR OF THE REVOLUTION
PATRICK HENRY
After the painting by Thomas Sully, owned by William Wirt Henry, the orator's grandson, Richmond, Virginia
Why the king wished to tax America
80. The Stamp Act. The surrender of Quebec and the fall of New France caused great rejoicing among the thirteen colonies. But the long, hard war had left both England and her colonies deeply in debt. King George III, however, thinking only of England's debt, decided that England ought to tax the colonies to pay for an army which he wished to keep in America.
PATRICK HENRY SPEAKING IN THE HOUSE OF BURGESSES
From an engraving after the original painting by Rothermal
What the Stamp Act was
So the Parliament of England passed a law that all licenses to marry, all deeds to property, licenses to trade, newspapers, almanacs, and other pamphlets had to be printed on stamped paper. This paper ranged in value from a few cents to many dollars.
Leading men in every one of the thirteen colonies spoke and wrote against the Stamp Act. Of all the men who did so, Patrick Henry, of Virginia, was the most eloquent and fiery. He had been elected by the people of his county to go up to Williamsburg, the capital of Virginia, to help make the laws. There were many able men in that old House of Burgesses, but none of them wished to take the lead in opposing the king's plan of a stamp tax.
Patrick Henry in the House of Burgesses
One day young Henry, although a new member, snatched a blank leaf from a law book and wrote down a set of resolutions declaring that only the Virginia Assembly could tax Virginians, and that any one who asserted the contrary was an enemy of the colony.
Patrick Henry's famous speech
He backed up these resolutions with a speech that stirred the Burgesses. He was so fiery and bold that men almost held their breath while they listened to the young orator. He closed by declaring that George III was acting like a tyrant, and that "Caesar had his Brutus, Charles the First his Cromwell, and George the Third—" "Treason! treason!" shouted the Speaker of the House. Waiting a moment till the noise ceased, the orator, with a calm and steady voice, added, "may profit by their example. If this be treason, make the most of it."
Henry's resolutions were passed, and were printed in almost every newspaper in the colonies. They made the people more determined than ever not to buy stamped paper.
Who was this young lawyer that stirred these dignified Virginia gentlemen in powdered hair, knee breeches, and silver buckles?
Patrick as a boy
81. The Orator of the Revolution. Patrick Henry was born in Virginia (1736). His father was a well-educated Scotchman, who taught school and became a lawyer. His mother was of Welsh blood. Young Patrick went to school, but he liked to hunt and fish far better than to study. He was a puzzle to his parents.
Early failures
By the time he was eighteen he had failed as a student, as a clerk, and as a storekeeper. He then married. The parents on both sides helped them to start farming with a few slaves. In two years Patrick Henry was forced to sell. Once more he tried keeping a country store. In three years the store closed its doors and Patrick Henry, aged twenty-three, was without an occupation.
Liked to study history and law
He now turned to the study of law. Although not in love with school when a boy, he loved to read the Bible. He also had a strong liking for history, and, in his youth, read the histories of Greece, of Rome, of England, and of the colonies. By a few months of hard study of the law he passed the examination. He succeeded from the first, and in less than four years had been engaged in more than one thousand cases.
Succeeded as a lawyer
Patrick's father the judge
82. The Parsons' Case. In 1763 Patrick Henry set all Virginia to talking about him as a lawyer. This colony had paid its clergymen from the beginning. Each one received a certain number of pounds of tobacco for his salary. But the price was now high and now low. A dispute arose because of this and was taken into court. But no great lawyer would take the people's side. Patrick Henry did. The courthouse was filled with people, many clergymen among them. In the judge's chair sat Patrick's own father.
PEOPLE OF THE COURT CARRYING PATRICK HENRY ON THEIR SHOULDERS AROUND THE GREEN
Henry's first great speech
The people overjoyed
Henry began his speech in an awkward way. The clergymen felt encouraged, while his friends and father felt uneasy. Soon he began to warm up. His words came more freely, and his gestures grew more graceful. The people began to listen, and then to lean forward spellbound by the charm of his eloquence and the power of his argument. The clergy grew angry and left the room. His father, forgetting that he was judge, cried for joy. When Henry finished, the people seized him and carried him on their shoulders from the court room and around the yard, shouting and cheering all the while.
Elected a lawmaker
Patrick Henry was now the people's hero. At the election the following year his friends chose him to go to the House of Burgesses, and there, in 1765, he made his stirring speech against the Stamp Act.
ON THE WAY TO THE GREAT CONGRESS AT PHILADELPHIA
The Stamp Act repealed
Many great Englishmen, such as William Pitt and Edmund Burke, opposed the Stamp Tax. Finally, King George and his Parliament repealed the unpopular act. The Americans were happy when they heard of its repeal.
ST. JOHN'S CHURCH, RICHMOND
The Americans angry over the Tea Tax
83. New Taxes. As if the king and Parliament could learn nothing, they passed a Tea Tax the very next year, placing a tax on all the tea imported into the colonies. Then the Americans everywhere refused to buy the tea and pay the tax. When the tea ships came to America the people of New York and Philadelphia sent them back, and the "Sons of Liberty" at Annapolis burned a ship full of tea. The king's governor at Boston refused to permit the ships to carry the tea back to England, but the people, one night, threw the tea into the sea. King George grew angry at such "tea parties," and had laws passed to punish Boston. More British soldiers were sent there to force the people to obey these detested laws.
THE STOVE IN THE HOUSE OF THE BURGESSES
This stove is now in the State Library of Virginia
Patrick Henry meets Samuel Adams at the great Congress
The colonies, more excited than ever, decided to hold a great Congress in Philadelphia (1774). Virginia, like the others, sent her best men. There in Carpenter's Hall, a building still standing, Henry made friends of leading men of other colonies. There he met Samuel Adams, who was doing with his pen what Henry was doing with his tongue, and they became life-long friends.
A new sentiment
One day, when speaking in favor of united action, Patrick Henry declared: "The distinctions between Virginians, Pennsylvanians, New Yorkers, and New Englanders are no more. I am not a Virginian, but an American."
As Patrick Henry talked with men from other colonies and heard how the king's troops were acting at Boston, he was convinced that war must come. He went home and urged the people of Virginia to arm for the coming struggle. The king's governor refused to permit meetings in the old capitol at Williamsburg, so they were held in St. John's Church, Richmond, a church still standing.
DECLAIMING PATRICK HENRY'S FAMOUS SPEECH
As a favorite declamation this great speech still rouses the spirit of patriotism in America
Patrick Henry's new resolutions
Here Patrick Henry offered resolutions declaring that Virginia should arm herself for the coming war. It was a serious time, and these were serious resolutions. Should the thirteen colonies go to war with one of the greatest nations in the world? Would it not be wise to send more petitions to the king? Some of the ablest men in Virginia opposed Henry's resolutions.
THE FLAG OF THE VIRGINIA MINUTEMEN
Patrick Henry's greatest speech
War is inevitable
84. Patrick Henry Defends his Resolutions. Patrick Henry listened to the speeches with smothered excitement. When he rose to defend his resolutions his face was pale and his voice was trembling. But soon his audience forgot what other men had said. They leaned forward and listened as if no other man had spoken. He stirred their deepest feelings when he declared: "We must fight! I repeat it, Sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms and the God of Hosts is all that is left to us. They tell us, Sir, that we are weak; unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week or the next year? Sir, we are not weak, if we make a proper use of the means which the God of Nature hath placed in our power. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery. Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable, and let it come! I repeat it, Sir: Let it come!—The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms. Our brothers are already in the field! Why stand we here idle! Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death."
OLD POWDER HOUSE, WILLIAMSBURG
The removal of the powder from this house to a British man-of-war caused the first uprising of the Virginians
What a listener in St. John's Church saw and heard
One who heard this speech says that when the orator spoke the words "chains and slavery," he stood like a slave with his body bent, his wrists crossed, as if bound by chains, and that his face looked like that of a hopeless slave. After a solemn pause he raised his eyes and chained hands toward heaven, and said, as if in prayer: "Forbid it, Almighty God!" He then slowly bent his body still nearer the floor, looking like a man oppressed, heart-broken, and helpless, and said: "I know not what course others may take." Then, rising grandly and proudly, with every muscle strained, as if he would break his imaginary chains, he exclaimed: "Give me liberty, or give me death!"
PATRICK HENRY
From the bronze figure of the Washington monument by Crawford at Richmond
What Washington saw in Boston in 1775
The men who heard this great speech never forgot it. The people of Virginia now pushed forward the work of arming her men. And when her own Washington went to take command of the army at Boston he found Virginia soldiers there wearing on their hunting shirts the words "Liberty or death!"
Patrick Henry loved by Virginians
From this time on Patrick Henry was in the forefront of the struggle with England. Virginia sent him to Congress, then she made him an officer in the army, and finally not only made him the first governor after independence was declared, but elected him to that office three times in succession, and offered him the same office three times more.
After independence was won Patrick Henry opposed the adoption of our constitution, although Washington, Madison, and many of his friends were in favor of it. When, however, he saw that the new constitution was a good one, he gave his support to his friend, President Washington.
Patrick Henry in his old age
Patrick Henry finally retired to his plantation and refused all offers of office. Many old friends and many great strangers went to visit him in his old age as one of the great men of the American Revolution. In the year of his death (1799), when some danger threatened Virginia, Patrick Henry came forth at Washington's request, old and feeble as he was, and aroused the people once more with his burning words. They elected him to the House of Burgesses by a great majority, but he did not live to take office.