Patrick Henry’s “Treason" Speech. On May 30, Henry gave his maiden speech in the assembly and defended his resolutions. He expanded the scope of his criticism to include not only Parliament, but the king as well. Speaking of George III, he stated that, “Caesar had his Brutus, Charles the First his Cromwell and George the Third — ."...
If this be treason, make the most of it.” Henry later apologized to the assembly and expressed his loyalty to the king. Nevertheless, the Resolves were adopted by a badly split House of Burgesses and over the next few weeks were circulated through the colonies in various newspapers.
(Painted by George Bagby Matthews, circa 1891, public domain) Patrick Henry (1736–1799) was a firebrand speaker, an ardent supporter of the American Revolution, and an early opponent of the adoption of the U.S. Constitution.
In Virginia, the current session of the House of Burgesses was drawing to a close and many of the delegates had already headed for home. Patrick Henry, who had held his seat for only a matter of days, celebrated his twenty-ninth birthday on May 29 by offering a series of resolutions related to the current crisis.
Some colonists accused Patrick Henry of treason because of a speech that he made at the House of Burgesses in Virginia in 1765.
Henry faultered not for an instant, but rising to a loftier attitude, concluded thus - "may profit by their example. If this be treason, make the most of it."
I am drawn along by the general inconvenience of living here without them. I will not, I cannot justify it." But the number of slaves he owned increased over time and as a result of his second marriage in 1777, so that at his death in 1799, he owned 67 slaves.
On March 23, 1775, Patrick Henry signaled the coming revolution when he spoke at a Virginia convention and allegedly implored: “Give me liberty, or give me death!”
The horrified delegates interrupted him with shouts of "Treason!" Patrick Henry responded, "If this be treason, make the most of it." Lord Dunmore, the royal governor of Virginia, got so mad that he dissolved the Virginia legislature in 1774.
Patrick Henry was a member of Virginia's House of Burgesses who called for resistance to tax. He is known for saying, "If this be treason, make the most of it!" Henry expected a war would occur against Britain. You just studied 41 terms!
An outspoken Anti-Federalist, Henry opposed the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, which he felt put too much power in the hands of a national government. His influence helped create the Bill of Rights, which guaranteed personal freedoms and set limits on the government's power.
Dorothea Dandridgem. 1777–1799Sarah Shelton Henrym. 1754–1775Patrick Henry/Wife
Henry helped to construct the state constitution and on June 29, 1776, the Convention elected him the first governor of independent Virginia. The governor used his power during the war to help his friend George Washington, recruiting troops for the cause and sending supplies to Valley Forge during the infamous winter.
Words from a speech by Patrick Henry urging the American colonies to revolt against England. Henry spoke only a few weeks before the Revolutionary War began: “Gentlemen may cry Peace, Peace, but there is no peace.
“Give me liberty or give me death!” 41. How does Henry's final statement, “Give me liberty or give me death” represent the courage of both Henry and his audience? Henry states that he is willing to suffer a traitor's death rather than be denied liberty.
Patrick Henry introduced his views in his speech “Give me liberty or give me death” on gaining independence from Great Britain, he clarifies that all the acts they did in the past had not successfully work. Henry wants to encourage the colonists to fight for their…show more content…
In March of 1764, Parliament expressed its intention to impose a direct tax on the colonies by requiring that important documents be printed on “stamped” paper. News of the proposed taxes reached Virginia in the summer of 1764. The Assembly was not then in session and would not be until October 30. Although the Assembly was in recess, the Committee of Correspondence ordered Virginia’s agent in England to oppose passage of such resolutions. On November 30, 1764, a special committee of the House of Burgesses reported a draft of an official response to be sent to the King and Parliament. On December 14 of the same year, the following resolutions were adopted:
On May 29, 1765, the day of his 29th birthday, Patrick Henry offered five resolutions for consideration by the House of Burgesses. Henry, in fact, offered the resolutions to the Committee of the Whole House. The House had gone into this Committee of the Whole after a motion to that effect was made by George Johnston, ...
Born in colonial Virginia of an English mother and Scottish father, Henry failed as a farmer and storekeeper but found his calling in the law. In court he displayed quick wit, knowledge of human nature, and forensic gifts.
Henry was a Virginia delegate to the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia in 1774. At the Virginia Convention in 1775, he sponsored measures for armed resistance to the British by the Virginia militia.
After helping to draw up Virginia’s state constitution, in 1776, Henry served three one-year terms as governor. His influence with the legislature was sporadic because of his habit of leaving before the end of the session.
Public service had left Henry badly in debt. He returned for a while to his law practice and became a successful criminal attorney. As a state legislator (1783–1784), he was in favor of strengthening the Articles of Confederation and allowing state taxes for support of churches.
Near the end of his career, Henry opposed the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions, which Jefferson and Madison had secretly written in opposition to the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798; he denied that a state had the right to decide the constitutionality of federal laws.