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The Stamp Act repealed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 Finally, King George and his Parliament repealed the unpopular act.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.