Henry, Patrick

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Henry, Patrick

HENRY, PATRICK. (1736–1799). Revolutionary orator and statesman. Virginia. Born at Studley, Virginia, on 29 May 1736, Henry failed twice as a storekeeper and once as a planter by the time he was 23. Deciding to try his luck at law, Henry passed the bar in 1760 without either formal education or even private study with a lawyer. He enjoyed impressive success in his new profession, and his sparkling performance in the Parson's Cause of 1763 established his reputation throughout Virginia. Two years later he became a member of the House of Burgesses, grabbing attention at his first session with his opposition to the Stamp Act. Proposing seven resolutions (29 May 1765), the last of which claimed that Virginia enjoyed complete legislative autonomy, Henry pressed his resolutions in a speech closing with the famous lines: "Caesar had his Brutus—Charles the first, his Cromwell—and George the third—may profit by their example…." Interrupted at this point by cries of treason, Henry supposedly said, "If this be treason, make the most of it." There was some confusion over how many resolutions passed, but Henry saw that the entire list was rushed off in unrevised form to the other colonies. Henry thus became a major political figure throughout the colonies, and for the next five years he dominated public life in Virginia.

Under Henry's leadership, the legislators met at Raleigh Tavern on 27 May 1774 after Governor John Murray, Earl of Dunmore dissolved the Assembly. On 23 March 1775 he urged armed resistance in a speech that declared: "Give me liberty, or give me death!" He had been a delegate to the first Continental Congress and was preparing to attend the second when he learned that Dunmore had seized the ammunition in the arsenal at Williamsburg. On 2 May 1775, Henry marched on Williamsburg with the militia of Hanover County, and two days later Dunmore reimbursed the colony for the powder. On 6 May, Dunmore outlawed "a certain Patrick Henry" for disturbing the peace. On 18 May the outlaw took his seat in Congress, but early in August he returned to Virginia to assist in military preparations. He was appointed colonel of the first regiment formed in Virginia, which made him the commander in chief of all state militia, but Henry's political enemies chose a Committee of Safety and put it under the control of Edmund Pendleton. William Woodford was given command of the force that ran Dunmore out of the colony. Henry was infuriated by this cavalier treatment and he also resented the attitude of the military committee of the Continental Congress, so on 28 February 1776 he resigned his commission and went home.

Henry promptly came back into the political arena when he was elected to the third revolutionary convention. In May he had a decisive part in drafting the Virginia constitution, and on 29 June he was elected governor. In this post he authorized the western operations of George Rogers Clark. Shortly before the end of his tenure, in the summer of 1779, Virginia was hit by the first of the raids against which it was to show itself virtually helpless. In this initial operation, Admiral George Collier and General Edward Mathew did an estimated £2,000,000 worth of damage without losing a man.

Succeeded by Thomas Jefferson, his close friend and political lieutenant, Patrick Henry retired to a huge tract of land in Henry County, Virginia. In 1780 Henry returned to the state legislature, where he led the opposition to James Madison's efforts to reform the state's constitution. In 1781 he joined those who demanded an investigation of Jefferson's conduct as governor, initiating a feud that lasted the rest of Henry's life. Even though he opposed Jefferson's Statute for Religious Freedom, Henry again became governor, serving from 1784 to 1786. He opposed the Constitution on the grounds of states' rights, almost blocking its ratification in Virginia until Madison outmaneuvered him. Back in the legislature as a convinced antifederalist, Henry blocked Madison's election to the U.S. Senate and led the demand for a second Constitutional Convention.

In declining health, Henry left the assembly and returned to the practice of law. In January 1799 he consented to George Washington's request that he campaign for election as a Federalist to the Virginia House of Delegates, completely reversing political direction. He defeated young John Randolph in this last campaign, but died on 6 June 1799, before he could take his seat.

SEE ALSO Parson's Cause; Woodford, William.