Give me Liberty, or give me Death!
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"Give me Liberty, or give me Death!" is a famous quotation attributed to Patrick Henry from a speech made to the Virginia House of Burgesses.
The speech was given March 23, 1775, at St. John's Church in Richmond, Virginia, and is credited with having swung the balance in convincing the Virginia House of Burgesses to pass a resolution delivering the Virginia troops to the Revolutionary War. Supposedly, in attendance were Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. Reportedly, the crowd, upon hearing the speech, jumped up and shouted, "To arms! To arms!"[citation needed]
The text of this speech first appeared in print in Life and Character of Patrick Henry by William Wirt which was first published in 1817, eighteen years after Patrick Henry's death. In 1815, Wirt wrote to a friend, "from 1763 to 1789... not one of his speeches lives in print, writing or memory. All that is told me is, that on such and such an occasion, he made a distinguished speech"[1] Wirt corresponded with men who had heard the speech and others who were acquainted with people who were there at the time. Wirt wrote to Judge St. George Tucker, who had been present for the speech, that "I have taken almost entirely Mr. Henry's speech in the Convention of '75 from you, as well as your description of its effect on you verbatim."[2]
Tucker's account was based upon recollections and not notes. Tucker attempted a reconstruction of only the first two paragraphs of the speech. Tucker wrote, "In vain should I attempt to give any idea of his speech".[3] While this implies a degree of uncertainty over the content of the speech, the amount of research done by Wirt in the process of creating his text strongly argues that he was able to accurately reconstruct the key points, especially the famous quote itself. It is generally agreed that it ended with, "It is in vain, sir, to extentuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace--but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!"
Ear-witnesses to Henry's hypnotic orations remarked that while they always seemed to be convincing in the moment, they had a difficult time remembering exactly what he had said immediately afterwards: according to Jefferson, "Although it was difficult, when [Henry] had spoken, to tell what he had said, yet, while speaking, it always seemed directly to the point. When he had spoken in opposition to my opinion, had produced a great effect, and I myself had been highly delighted and moved, I have asked myself, when he ceased, 'What the devil has he said?' and could never answer the inquiry."[4]
The text of the speech as presented by Wirt contains many biblical allusions and radical pronouncements, and ends by asserting that war has already begun, the only question being whether or not to fight. In Henry's delivery of the speech, Wirt compared Henry with the Roman statesman Cato. Cato was a famous orator and a leading proponent of the Stoicism philosophy in which it is believed that death was a guarantee of person freedom. Cato was a proponent of Republicanism in opposition to the dictatorship of Julius Caesar. Cato chose suicide over living in a tyranny. Some scholars believe that this line was inspired by Cato.[5] The play Cato, a Tragedy contains the line, "It is not now time to talk of aught/But chains or conquest, liberty or death" (Act II, Scene 4). This play was popular in the colonies and was well-known by the Founding Fathers, who used quotes from the play. George Washington had this play performed for the Continental Army at Valley Forge.[6] The phrase "Liberty or Death" also appears on the Culpeper Minutemen flag of 1775.
[edit] Footnotes
[edit] References
- Cohen, Charles (1981). "The ‘Liberty or Death’ Speech: A Note on Religion and Revolutionary Rhetoric". The William and Mary Quarterly 38 (4): 702–717. doi:.
- Nelson, Craig (2006). Thomas Paine, Enlightenment, Revolution, and the Birth of Modern Nations. New York: Viking. ISBN 0670037885.
- Randall, William (1997). George Washington: A Life. New York: Henry Holt & Co. ISBN 0805027793.
- Raphael, Ray (2004). Founding Myths: Stories that Hide Our Patriotic Past. New York: New Press. ISBN 1565849213.
- Wirt, William (1817). Sketches of the life and character of Patrick Henry. Philadelphia: Webster.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Text of Patrick Henry's speech to the Virginia House of Burgesses
- Audio of the speech by Richard Schuman, who interprets the character of Patrick Henry for The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.
- Cato (A Tragedy in Five Acts) (1713)
