Article Images
Content deleted Content added
Line 28: '''Patrick Henry''' (May 29, 1736{{spnd}}June 6, 1799) was an American attorney, [[Planter (American South)|planter]] and orator well known for his declaration to the [[Second Virginia Convention]] (1775): "[[Give me liberty, or give me death!]]" A [[Founding Fathers of the United States|Founding Father]], he served as the [[List of Governors of Virginia|first and sixth]] post-colonial [[Governor of Virginia]], from 1776 to 1779 and from 1784 to 1786. Henry was born in [[Hanover County, Virginia]], and was for the most part educated at home. After unsuccessful ventures running a store, and assisting his father-in-law at [[Hanover Tavern]], Henry became a lawyer through self-study. Beginning his practice in 1760, he quickly became prominent though his victory in the [[Parson's Cause]] against the Anglican clergy. He was elected to the [[House of Burgesses]], where he In 1774 and 1775, Henry served as a delegate to the [[First Continental Congress|First]] and [[Second Continental Congress]]es, but did not prove particularly influential. Henry gained further popularity among the people of Virginia, not only through his famous speech to the convention in 1775, but by marching troops towards the capital of [[Williamsburg, Virginia|Williamsburg]] after the [[Gunpowder Incident]] until the munitions taken by the royal government were paid for. Henry urged independence, and when the [[Fifth Virginia Convention]] endorsed this in 1776, served on the committee charged with drafting the [[Virginia Declaration of Rights]] and the original [[Virginia Constitution]]. Henry was promptly elected governor under the new charter, and served a total of five one-year terms. After leaving the governorship in 1779, Henry served in the [[Virginia House of Delegates]] until he began his last two terms as governor in 1784. The failures of the national government under the [[Articles of Confederation]] made Henry fear a strong federal government and he declined appointment as a delegate to the [[Constitutional Convention (United States)|1787 Constitutional Convention]]. He actively opposed the ratification of the Constitution, a fight which has marred his historical image. He returned to the practice of law in his final years, declining several offices under the federal government. A slaveholder through his adult life, he hoped to see the institution end, but had no plan for that beyond ending the importation of slaves. Henry is remembered for his oratory, and as an enthusiastic promoter of the fight for independence. | |||