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Today in History: Patrick Henry Delivers His “Liberty or Death” Speech
03/23/10
On March 23, 1775, Patrick Henry delivered his famous “Give me liberty or give me death” speech to a meeting of the Virginia House of Burgesses being held at St. John’s Church in Richmond. A renowned orator, Henry was speaking out of more than a decade of opposition to the British Crown, which he viewed as usurping the rights of American colonists. As he arose to speak, he understood that several of his fellow burgesses were not yet prepared to accept the idea of revolution. While acknowledging their reservations about such a drastic course of action, he framed the debate as a question of freedom or slavery. It was too late to talk of peace when the war, in his view, had already begun with the Crown’s massing of its military forces. His speech elevated public discourse far beyond mere protests against the British Crown or even the upholding of the colonists’ rights as British subjects. Henry’s words became famous because he suggested that what was at stake was the very identity of free citizens.
Henry’s powerful speech in March 1775 acknowledged his colleagues’ concerns about the consequences of open resistance to royal authority, but he was asserting that the time for compromise had already elapsed and that the threat to liberty was so grave that calls for conciliation were no longer beneficial. The choice he described was stark: The colonists had to assert their rights with force. To do otherwise was not merely to accept the status quo but also to acquiesce to a diminution of liberty that would result in nothing less than slavery. Henry believed that moderation was not an option because the status quo was an illusion; colonial self-government had already eroded to a point that made it impossible for the colonists to retrieve their rights from royal authority. Henry’s appeal constituted an alarm and a call to the individual conscience. He was uniting his interpretation of recent history with his own demand for liberty. What made his speech so powerful was his willingness not merely to urge a radical course of action but also to say that it was vitally necessary for his fellow colonists and that he was willing to risk his own life in pursuit of their common desire for freedom.