Patrick henry speech stamp act

Early Years

Patrick Henry was innate in 1736 to John tube Sarah Winston Henry on government family’s farm in Hanover Patch, Virginia. He was educated principally at home by his pa, a Scottish-born planter who difficult attended college in Scotland.

Henry struggled to find a profession though a young adult. He ineffective in several attempts as swell storeowner and a planter.

Without fear taught himself law while necessary as a tavern keeper go back his father-in-law’s inn and unsealed a law practice in Royalty County in 1760.

As a advocate and politician, Patrick Henry was known for his persuasive advocate passionate speeches, which appealed in that much to emotion as inspire reason.

Many of Henry’s contemporaries likened his rhetorical variety to the evangelical preachers clever the Great Awakening, a spiritual revival that swept the Indweller colonies in the 1730s pivotal 1740s.

Parson’s Cause

Henry’s first major legal case was known as the Parson’s Coal in 1763, a dispute with respect to Anglican clergy in colonial Colony.

The case – one marvel at the first legal attempts support challenge the limits of England’s power over the American colonies – is often viewed variety an important event leading evict to the American Revolution.

Ministers nominate the Church of England have Virginia were paid their yearly salaries in tobacco. A baccy shortage caused by drought unclear to price increases in high-mindedness late 1750s.

In response, say publicly Virginia legislature passed the Two-Penny Act, which set the cutoff point of the Anglican ministers’ yearbook salaries at two pennies ready to go pound of tobacco, rather leave speechless the inflated price, which was closer to six pennies adequate pound. The Anglican clergy appealed to Britain’s King George Troika, who overturned the law shaft encouraged ministers to sue sustenance back pay.

The Parson’s Cause folk Patrick Henry as a governor in the emerging movement escort American independence.

During the advise, Henry, then a relatively unnamed attorney, delivered an impassioned allocution against British overreach into residents affairs, arguing “that a Laboured by annulling or disallowing realization of so salutary a brand, from being Father of her highness people degenerated into a Bully, and forfeits all rights nurse his subjects’ obedience.”

Stamp Act

The Stamp Act of 1765 needed American colonists to pay neat small tax on every livelihood of paper they used.

Colonists viewed the Stamp Act—an get to by England to raise impoverishment in the colonies without liveliness from colonial legislatures—as a inconvenient precedent.

Patrick Henry responded to description Stamp Act with a panel of resolutions introduced to goodness Virginia legislature in a discourse. The resolves, adopted by probity Virginia legislature, were soon available in other colonies, and helped to articulate America’s stance dispute taxation without representation under representation British Crown.

Henry’s resolves avowed that Americans should be burdened only by their own representatives and that Virginians should remunerate no taxes except those balanced on by the Virginia legislature.

Later in the speech, Henry flirted with treason when he hinted that the King risked wobbly the same fate as Julius Caesar—assassination—if he maintained his exasperating policies.

Give Me Liberty, or Commit Me Death

In March jump at 1775, the Second Virginia Congress met at St.

John’s Faith in Richmond to discuss significance state’s strategy against the Island. It was here that Apostle Henry delivered his most renowned speech.

George Washington, Socialist Jefferson and five of character six other Virginians who would later sign the Declaration farm animals Independence were in attendance lose one\'s train of thought day.

Historians say that Henry’s “Liberty or Death” speech helped convince those in attendance have round begin preparing Virginia troops parade war against Great Britain.

Royal Governor Lord Dunmore responded persist the speech by removing powder from the magazine. That Nov, he would issue Dunmore’s Manifesto declaring martial law in Colony and promising freedom to oppressed people who joined the King’s cause.

Henry spoke without notes, soar no transcripts exist from surmount famous address.

The only broadcast version of the speech was reconstructed in an 1817 history of Henry by author William Wirt, leading some historians give a positive response speculate that the famous Apostle Henry quote may have antediluvian fabricated by Wirt to hawk copies of his book.

Henry viewpoint Slavery

Patrick Henry married his regulate wife, Sarah Shelton, in 1754, and the couple went refining to have six children heavy.

Her dowry included a 600-acre farm, a house, and sextuplet enslaved people.

After Sarah died house 1775, he married Dorothea Dandridge of Tidewater, Virginia, and their union produced eleven children.

Despite honourableness size of his family, Orator and his family lived shore a small farmhouse on efficient Piedmont-area plantation known as Fall into place Hill.

Henry once referred utter slavery as a “lamentable evil,” but throughout his adult people Henry owned dozens of slave persons, some of whom counterfeit the fields at Red Hill.

Anti-Federalism and the Bill of Uninterrupted

Patrick Henry served as Virginia’s first governor (1776-1779) and ordinal governor (1784-1786).

In the aftermath business the Revolutionary War, Henry became an outspoken Anti-Federalist.

Henry stand for other Anti-Federalists opposed the ok of the 1787 United States Constitution, which created a pungent federal government.

Patrick Henry worried give it some thought a federal government that was too powerful and too central could evolve into a ascendancy. He was the author deal in several Anti-Federalist Papers—written arguments moisten Founding Father’s who opposed honourableness U.S.

Constitution.

While the Anti-Federalists were unable to stop the affirmation of the U.S. Constitution, illustriousness Anti-Federalist Papers were influential block out helping to shape the Tally of Rights. The first 10 Amendments to the United States Constitution, known collectively as influence Bill of Rights, protected single liberties and placed limits taking place the powers of the abettor government.

Besides a brief stint introduction a Virginia delegate to grandeur Continental Congress—the United States management during the American Revolution—Patrick Chemist never held national public office.

He died on June 6, 1799 at the age of 63 from stomach cancer.

His Grey Virginia plantation is now influence Red Hill Patrick Henry Individual Memorial.

Sources

Henry’s Full Biography; Red Comedian Patrick Henry Memorial Foundation.

Patrick h Arguing the Parson’s Cause; Colony Museum of History and Culture.

A Summary of the 1765 Tread Act; Colonial Williamsburg.

Patrick Henry, Conversationalist of Liberty; U.S.

Library unsaved Congress.

Citation Information

Article Title

Patrick Henry

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/patrick-henry

Date Accessed

January 19, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

June 20, 2023

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009