Patrick Henry
Occupation: Politician, orator, lawyer
Best known as: great Virginia orator who said "Give me liberty or give me death!"
Nationality: American
Born: May 29, 1736, Studley, Virginia
Died: June 6, 1799, Red Hill, Virginia
Remains: Red Hill, Virginia
Education: little formal education
Offices held:
Virginia House of Burgesses (1765-1776)
Virginia Governor (1776-1779 and 1784-1786)
Short biography:
Patrick Henry, a Virginia lawyer, first became famous in the American independence movement when he argued a case called the "Parson's Cause," which concerned whether the king or colonial governments had the right to set the price of tobacco paid to clergymen. He was elected to the House of Burgesses in 1765, where he encouraged the adoption of the Virginia Stamp Act Resolutions, opposing the Stamp Act, and delivered his famous "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death" speech, convincing Virginia to take military action against Britain. In a skirmish known as the Gunpowder Incident, he led militia against Royal Governor Lord Dunmore, and then became the first post-independence governor of Virginia in 1776. After the war, he was a staunch anti-federalist, urging the passage of the Bill of Rights. However, his political philosophy began to change, and by the 1790s he was an ardent supporter of the Constitution and an opponent of the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions.
More about Patrick Henry: Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death (the full text of the speech)
