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Show Patrick Henry's Birthday Not all the heroes of the Revolutionary Re-volutionary War earned their glory on bloody battlefields, for many served their country well in legislative halls and other offices of government. One of the greatest great-est of these was Patrick Henry, the Virginia lawyer, whose eloquent elo-quent tongue was the first in the Old Dominion to sound the war-cry war-cry of American independence. Patrick Henry was born in Hanover Han-over County, Virginia, May 29. 173K, and the United States George Washington Bicentennial Commission signalizes the date as an appropriate one for celebration in connection with the Two Hundredth Hun-dredth Anniversary of the birth of George Washington now being observed ob-served throughout the United States. As one of the great patriots pat-riots of his time, and a warm a.lmiier of George Washington, Henry will be remembered with gratitude, espBCtally during this year dedicated by the entire Nation Na-tion to the memory of the First President. It was in May, 1765, that Patrick Pat-rick Henry, then a twenty-nine year old member of the Virginia House of Burgesses, speaking against the Stamp Act, rose to majestic heights to warn Britain's Brit-ain's king of the danger of oppressing op-pressing the American Colonies. During that memorable speech, occurred one of the most dramatic dram-atic scenes ever enacted in a legislative leg-islative assembly. The House of Burgesses had been thrown into an uproar by the introduction of resolutions denying the power of Great Britain Brit-ain to tax flie Colonies without their consent. Henry moved the resolutions, and immediately they were opposed by the majority of the house. The debate grew warm and Patrick Henry, supporting them, denounced as tyranny, the Stamp Act. "Caesar had his Brutus," thundered thun-dered Henry, "Charles the First, his Cromwell and George the Third " "Treason!" cried the Speaker "treason, treason," echoed echo-ed from every part of the house. "It was," says Judge Tyler, an eye-witness, "one of those trying moments which is decisive of character. Henry faltered not for an instant; but rising to a loftier attiude, and fixing on the Speaker Speak-er an eye cf the most determined fire, he finished his sentence with the firmest emphasis 'may profit pro-fit by their example. If this be treason, make the most of it." This account of the famous speech was approved by Thomas Jefferson who was later to frame the Declaration of Independence which Patrick Henry felt had to come. It is the best known traditional tradi-tional account of the episode, and is supported in the main by a recently discovered, casual, contemporary con-temporary description in a somewhat some-what milder form. Henry beat down the opposition to the resolutions and they were adopted. The impulse spread from Virginia to the rest of the Colon-1 ies, and the whole continent flamed into resistance. Events moved rapidly into thai year 1775. General Gage was in Boston with British troops sent to punish that city for the opposition opposi-tion to the tea tax. But not yet had the country become imbued with the desire to be free. The Colonial governments had all been dissolved and changed, and affairs were administered by committees and conventions of delegates. In Virginia the royal governor had fled to a British battleships, and the House of Burgesses had been supplanted by a Convention. In this body, on the morning of March 23, 1775, Patrick Henry exploded a bombshell by introducing introduc-ing resolutions to mobilize the militia and put the colony in a state of defense. And in support cf these resolutions, he delivered what has been termed the greatest great-est short speech in all history the speech which has to some extent ex-tent overshadowed his entire life. With irressistable eloquence tne fiery orator painted the picture of America's debasement if she submitted sub-mitted to England's oppression. H&-pointed H&-pointed out that Britain was planning to enforce the acts of Parliament, and for that purpose was accumulating in this hemisphere hemis-phere her armies and navies. The time has passed for argument and the Colonies must submit or fight. And America could fight, he said, armed in the holy cause of liberty. War was inevitable to retreat meant slavery, the price demanded for life. Then came the stupendous climax when he uttered utter-ed the immortal words still living in the heart of each American: "I know not what course others I may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!" Patrick Henry became the war-governor war-governor of his beloved Virginia, and served several terms in this office until he decided to retire to private life. But like other patriots patri-ots of his time he could not resist re-sist the call of duty and he later came from seclusion again to serve his native state. Perhaps he would have become a prominent figure in national affairs for he certainly was offered several important im-portant positions in the newly formed government, including the portfolio of State but for the fact that he distrusted the Constitution Con-stitution as an enroachment on States' fights. His lack of sympathy for the new government, however, did not affect his personal relations with George Washington under whose guidance the Constitution was framed and put into operation. The great orator and the great soldier of the Revolution had only on-ly the deepest respect and admiration admir-ation for each other. Patrick Henry died June 6, 17-99, 17-99, just six months before Washington's Wash-ington's death, and shortly after he had been elected to the Virginia Vir-ginia House of Delegates. |
