Patrick Henry

Virginia lawyer, orator and Founding Father, 1736–1799. 1 explained quote.

≈ Paraphrase · Start here

“Give me liberty, or give me death!”

Patrick Henry · 1775

≈ Paraphrase

“Give me liberty, or give me death!”

Patrick Henry · Speech to the Second Virginia Convention · 1775 · Politician

Henry's call for Virginia to arm itself against Britain, weeks before the fighting began at Lexington and Concord. The famous words were written down only 42 years later, from listeners' memories.

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About Patrick Henry

Patrick Henry was a Virginia lawyer and politician who became one of the loudest voices for American independence. He led opposition to the Stamp Act in 1765, served as the first governor of independent Virginia, and later opposed the new federal Constitution because he feared it gave too much power to the central government.

Henry was famous above all as a speaker, but he left almost no written texts of his speeches. What we know of them comes largely from people who heard him and from accounts written down decades later, which is why historians treat his most famous words with some caution. Like many Virginia leaders of his time, he was also an enslaver.