Patrick Henry: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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'''Patrick Henry''' (May 29, 1736{{spnd}}June 6, 1799) was an American attorney, 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 an unsuccessful venture 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 soon became prominent thoughthrough his victory in the [[Parson's Cause]] against the Anglican clergy. Henry was elected to the Virginia [[House of Burgesses]], where he quickly became notable for his inflammatory rhetoric against the [[Stamp Act of 1765]].

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. He gained further popularity among the people of Virginia, both through his oratory at the convention and by marching troops towards the colonial capital of [[Williamsburg, Virginia|Williamsburg]] after the [[Gunpowder Incident]] until the munitions seized 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.