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Patrick Henry Essay

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Patrick Henry Patrick Henry was a great patriot. He never used his fists or guns to fight

for his country, but he used a much more powerful weapon at which he held great skill:

his words. Possibly the greatest orator of his time, his speeches such as "Give Me Liberty

or Give Me Death" struck a cord in the American spirit of those who opposed oppression

and tyranny. Henry was born on May 29th, 1736 in Studley, Virginia. His schooling was

basic; elementary school, then trained in the classics by his father. His father, John Henry

was an well-educated Scotsman who was a surveyor, colonel, and justice of the local

county court. Still young, Patrick Henry first took up storekeeping in which he failed

twice, and then farming …show more content…

He was on Virginia first Committee

of Correspondence, a delegate in the Continental Congresses, and was commander of

Virginian forces during wartime. During wartime he devised strategies that were not

looked high upon by his over lookers and he decided to resign from his post in early

1776. After leaving military duty he helped draft the first constitution of the state of

Virginia, the same year he was elected governor the first three times for one-year terms.

Although resigned from the American Military he still gave General Washington his full

support, and authorized the invasion of Illinois by George Rogers Clark. After the death

of his first wife he soon remarried then retired, but several times he was called back into

public service. First to the Virginia state legislature in 1784, and then as governor from

1784 until 1786. He decided not to attend the Philadelphia Constitutional convention of

1787, and was the leading opponent of the newly drafted U.S. Constitution. Partially

because he believed it did not grant enough freedoms to individuals and enough rights to

states. But after the creation of the Bill of Rights (In which he had much involvment),

Henry was satisfied and returned to a strong position in politics. In his last speech before

his death, he was still calling for the unification of the colonies and he still carried the

same oratorical prowess that he had

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