Patrick Henry: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

Line 41:

The religious revival known as the [[Great Awakening]] reached Virginia when Henry was a child. His father was staunchly Anglican, but his mother often took him to hear Presbyterian preachers. Although Henry remained a lifelong Anglican communicant, ministers such as [[Samuel Davies (clergyman)|Samuel Davies]] taught him that it is not enough to save one's own soul, but one should help to save society. He also learned that oratory should reach the heart, not just persuade based on reason.{{sfn|Kukla|pp=13–23}} His oratorical technique would follow that of these preachers, seeking to reach the people by speaking to them in their own language.{{sfn|Kidd|p=37}}

For Henry, religion would play a key part in his life; his father and namesake uncle were both devout and were both major influences in his life. Nevertheless, he was uncomfortable with the role of the Anglican Church as the established religion in Virginia, and fought for religious liberty throughout his career. Henry wrote to a group of Baptists who had sent a letter of congratulations following Henry's 1776 election as governor, "My earnest wish is, that Christian charity, forbearance and love may unite all different persuasions as brethren."<ref name = "henrychrist" />He criticized his state of Virginia, feeling that slavery and lack of religious toleration had retarded its development. He told the [[Virginia Ratifying Convention]] in 1788, "That religion or the duty which we owe to our Creator, and the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and conviction, not by force or violence, and therefore all men have an equal, natural and unalienable right to the free exercise of religion according to the dictates of conscience, and that no particular religious sect or society ought to be favored or established by law in preference to others.<ref name = "henrychrist">{{cite web|last=Wells|first=James M.|title=The Christian Philosophy of Patrick Henry|url=http://www.christianhistorysociety.com/henrythesis1.html|accessdate=November 16, 2017|publisher=Christian History Society}}</ref>

[[File:Shelton House - Shenk.jpg|thumb|right|View of [[Rural Plains]] near Totopotomoy Creek in Virginia. Henry was reportedly married to Sarah Shelton in the parlor.]]

Line 116 ⟶ 119:

Henry belatedly arrived at the Congress on May 18, 1775.{{sfn|Kukla|p=187}} Jefferson later stated that Henry played only a supporting role, and though there is not a complete record, the fact that he was not written of as having an impact appears to confirm that. The Congress appointed Washington as head of American forces, an appointment that Henry supported.{{sfn|Kidd|pp=106–107}} At the end of the session, in August, Henry left Philadelphia for Virginia and would never again hold office outside its borders.<ref name = "a" />

While Henry was returning, the [[Third Virginia Convention]] in August commissioned him as colonel of the [[1st Virginia Regiment]], and he took itup the upappointment later that month. Although Henry had little military experience, this was not considered a major drawback at the time, and he was held to have distinguished himself in the march on Williamsburg. General Washington, though, felt that the convention had "made a Capital mistake when they took Henry out of the Senate to place him in the Field".{{sfn|Kukla|pp=189–190}} In September, Virginia's [[Committees of safety (American Revolution)|Committee of Safety]] placed Henry in charge of all of Virginia's forces.{{sfn|Kidd|p=109}} Despite the high title, Henry was placed under tight civilian control, and to an extent the willingness of moderates to go along with the appointment reflected a view that in that position, the volatile Henry would be contained.{{sfn|McDonnell|pp=100–102}}

Henry moved to organize his regiment, and had no difficulty recruiting men.<ref name = "a" /> As commander, he organized [[Virginia State Navy#American Revolutionary War|a navy]].{{sfn|Kukla|pp=201–202}} In November 1775, Dunmore, who though he had abandoned Williamsburg still held Norfolk, issued a proclamation offering freedom to any black slave or [[indentured servant]] willing and able to serve in his forces, which already included several hundred former slaves. Henry wrote to all [[county lieutenant]]s, stating that the proclamation "is fatal to the publick {{sic}} Safety" and urging an "unremitting Attention to the Government of the SLAVES may, I hope, counteract this dangerous Attempt. Constant, and well directed Patrols, seem indispensably necessary."{{sfn|McDonnell|pp=140, 148–149}}<!-- quote on p. 149 -->

Henry saw no action himself, and there were murmurs in the convention against his command; some feared he was too radical to be an effective military leader. In February 1776, Virginia's forces were reorganized as they were placed under Continental command. Henry was to retain his rank of colonel, but was placed under a former subordinate. Henry refused and resigned his commission; his troops were outraged by the slight to him, and considered leaving service, but he calmed the situation.{{sfn|Kukla|pp=201–204}}

Line 127 ⟶ 130:

The convention then proceeded to consider a constitution for Virginia's government. Henry was appointed to a committee under the leadership of [[Archibald Cary]].{{sfn|Campbell|pp=223–224}} Much of the work fell to the final appointee to the committee, George Mason of Fairfax County, who did not arrive in Williamsburg until May 18, delayed by illness. Mason first drafted a [[Virginia Declaration of Rights|Declaration of Rights]]; it was discussed in the Cary Committee on May 25. Mason's draft, more than the final declaration, would be highly influential, used by Jefferson in writing the Declaration of Independence, and by writers of many 18th and 19th century state constitutions. When the draft was debated, Henry, at the request of a young delegate from [[Orange County, Virginia|Orange County]], [[James Madison]], produced an amendment changing Mason's call for religious tolerance to one requiring full [[freedom of worship]]. This was seen as a threat to Virginia's established religion, Anglicanism, and did not pass. Madison reworked it and had another delegate introduce it, likely [[Edmund Randolph]], a clergyman, and it passed. Mason's draft called for a ban on [[bills of attainder]]. Henry got it removed by telling the delegates that some high offender might be reached by no other means.{{sfn|Kukla|pp=210–213}} The convention approved the Declaration of Rights on June 12.{{sfn|Kidd|p=126}}

Virginia's form of government, to be placed in its constitution, was a concern not only within its borders; Jefferson, in Philadelphia though he would have preferred to be in Williamsburg, sent a plan, and John Adams sent Henry a pamphlet containing his own views, to which Henry replied, "your sentiments are precisely the same I have long since taken up, and they come recommended by you".{{sfn|Campbell|pp=225–226}} But it was Mason's plan for the government of Virginia which dominated, with a strong lower house of the legislature, to be known as the [[Virginia House of Delegates]], and a weak executive, with the governor, elected by the two houses of the legislature, not even given the power to veto legislation. Henry opposed the weakness of the governor, feeling it was risky at a time of war to have the executive so weak, but his views did not prevail. He had reason to rue the office's lack of power, as on June 29, 1776, the convention elected him as Virginia's first post-independence governor, by 60 votes to 45 for [[Thomas Nelson Jr.]], elected him as Virginia's first post-independence governor."<ref name = "a" />{{sfn|Kukla|pp=214–217}} The election of Henry, at that time Virginia's most popular politician, helped assure acceptance of the new authorities,{{sfn|Kidd|pp=129–135}} but also placed him in a figurehead position, removed from the true power in the new government, the House of Delegates.{{sfn|McDonnell|p=244}}

Henry was taken ill almost immediately upon being sworn in as governor on July 5, and recuperated at Scotchtown. He returned to Williamsburg in September, and corresponded with General Washington about the military situation. Washington, who was less effective because of the inadequacies of his troops, complained about the state militias, feeling a [[Continental Army]] committed for the duration of the war was needed. Henry helped recruit new troops for Washington, but his efforts were hampered by a number of issues, including the weakness of Henry's office. In December 1776, with the General Assembly alarmed at reports Washington's army was in retreat as the British occupied Philadelphia, legislators granted Henry temporary expanded powers, something that Jefferson was still unhappy about years later, feeling that Henry was trying to set himself up as dictator. In March 1777, Henry wrote to Washington seeking permission to recruit soldiers for terms of up to eight months. Washington's anger in his response that such troops were not useful caused Henry to drop the matter, stating that he deferred to Washington's experience in military matters. Recruiting remained a problem; many Virginians were willing to be members of the county militia, but did not want to join the [[Continental Army]] lest they be sent out of state or exposed to disease.{{sfn|Kidd|pp=129–135}}{{sfn|McDonnell|p=258}} Desertion was also a problem Henry labored to solve with limited success; many Virginians hand been induced to enlist with promises they would not be sent outside the state or local area, and left when orders came to march.{{sfn|McDonnell|p=266}}

Line 208 ⟶ 211:

== Legacy and historical view ==

As historian [[Richard Beeman]] put it, Henry was a man who "did not bother to write much of anything down", a handicap when being evaluated by history.{{sfn|Beeman|p=302}} The lack of primary source materials regarding Henry—only a handful of papers and a few of his speeches survive—has frustrated Henry's biographers from Wirt (1817) to Beeman (1974): Wirt commented two years before publishing his book, "It is all speaking, speaking, speaking. 'Tis true he could talk—Gods! how he ''could'' talk! but&nbsp;... to make the matter worse, from 1763 to 1789&nbsp;... not one of his speeches lives in print, writing or memory".{{sfn|Beeman|p=301}} Beeman, for his part, concluded, "the Revolutionary firebrand, whatever his achievements, possessed a miserable sense of history".{{sfn|Beeman|p=301}} This was a deficiency not possessed by Jefferson, who not only survived Henry by a quarter century, but who got to fill the vacuum of information about Henry with his own recollections and opinions.{{sfn|Beeman|pp=301–302}} Wirt did not print many of Jefferson's criticisms of Henry, which irritated the former president to such an extent he was still mentioning it to guests at [[Monticello]] in 1824.{{sfn|Kidd|pp=246–247}} Nevertheless, Jefferson's negative assessments of Henry have sulliedaffected the latter's historical reputation.{{sfn|Beeman|p=302}}

Henry has always been acclaimed by Americans for the brilliance of his political oratory.{{sfn|Kidd|p=247}} Kukla wrote,"Henry explained the Revolution to ordinary men and women through America in words they understood—and inspired them to fight for liberty."{{sfn|Kukla|p=394}} Mayer argued, "Henry had forged a popular and partisan political style whose democratic implications took another generation to realize fully and accept. His career pointed the transition from the political squirearchy of the eighteenth century to the mass politics of [[Andrew Jackson]]'s day".{{sfn|Mayer|p=474}} In his study of Henry's oratory, David A. McCants suggested that Henry's position as great American orator of his day was not so much because of his "heroism and eloquence" but for adapting the clashing philosophies, religious and political, that met in Henry's Virginia, to create a new style of oratory that appealed to the masses.{{sfn|McCants|pp=3–5}} According to Tate, "by his unmatched oratorical powers, by employing a certain common touch to win the unwavering loyalty of his constituents, and by closely identifying with their interests, he almost certainly contributed to making the Revolution a more widely popular movement than it might otherwise have become".<ref name= "a" /> Kidd argued that the historical focus on the quality of Henry's oratory may result from a discomfort with the content of his speeches, especially his opposition to the Constitution.{{sfn|Kidd|p=247}}