“Give me liberty or give me death.”
Those were the dramatic words that echoed through St. John’s Church on March 23, 1775. Patrick Henry, ever the orator, sent shockwaves through the crowd as he uttered those famous words. Nevertheless, his speech was far more dramatic than just that simple phrase. Every word was piercing and meaningful, driving home the sentiment that war was coming and there was no turning back:
“Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss. Ask yourselves how this gracious reception of our petition comports with those warlike preparations which cover our waters and darken our land. Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation? Have we shown ourselves so unwilling to be reconciled that force must be called in to win back our love? Let us not deceive ourselves, sir. These are the implements of war and subjugation; the last arguments to which kings resort. I ask gentlemen, sir, what means this martial array, if its purpose be not to force us to submission? Can gentlemen assign any other possible motive for it? Has Great Britain any enemy, in this quarter of the world, to call for all this accumulation of navies and armies? No, sir, she has none. They are meant for us: they can be meant for no other. They are sent over to bind and rivet upon us those chains which the British ministry have been so long forging. And what have we to oppose to them? Shall we try argument? Sir, we have been trying that for the last ten years. Have we anything new to offer upon the subject? Nothing. We have held the subject up in every light of which it is capable; but it has been all in vain. Shall we resort to entreaty and humble supplication? What terms shall we find which have not been already exhausted? Let us not, I beseech you, sir, deceive ourselves. Sir, we have done everything that could be done to avert the storm which is now coming on. We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before the throne, and have implored its interposition to arrest the tyrannical hands of the ministry and Parliament. Our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrances have produced additional violence and insult; our supplications have been disregarded; and we have been spurned, with contempt, from the foot of the throne! In vain, after these things, may we indulge the fond hope of peace and reconciliation. There is no longer any room for hope. If we wish to be free– if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending–if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained–we must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms and to the God of hosts is all that is left us!”
At the time that Henry made the speech, the Second Virginia Convention was meeting in Richmond. Patrick Henry had offered up amendments to raise a militia that would be independent of the royal authority, recognizing that war with England was inevitable. It is safe to say that Henry’s ideas did not make everyone at the Convention happy. The boisterous orator had a way of ruffling feathers. In defending his amendments, Henry solidified his place in history when he said:
“It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace– but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? 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!”[1]
As he finished his speech, the Virginian raised his ivory letter opener and then plunged it toward his chest. In an imitation of the Roman patriot Cato the Younger, Patrick Henry, unintentionally, cut his skin and drove home his point.
[1] “Avalon Project – Patrick Henry – Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death,” accessed March 23, 2023, https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/patrick.asp.
Leave a Reply