Give Me Liberty, or Give Me Death… but Preferably Liberty
Today is the anniversary of Patrick Henry’s famous speech down there at St. John’s Church in Richmond, VA. You know the one, about the liberty and such. If I had to guess, I might predict that there may be a reenactment or something going on there, although that may simply come from spending too much time living in Williamsburg - I’m not sure how they do things in Richmond. How they roll.
So this is a famous speech, or at least, it is a famous last paragraph of a speech. The whole thing - in its entirety - is pretty short though, and is worth reading. Even without a preconceived burning hatred for the British, it is pretty effective in instilling one, at least to me. You can read it here, if you like: wikisource.
Of course, something to keep in mind while reading that, and something which the wikipedia article does not mention, but which I am fairly certain is, nonetheless, true, is that no one wrote the speech down while he was speaking it, and Henry was not the sort of person to write down his speeches beforehand. So there is probably a degree of creative license, or creative memory there; be warned.
I might be thinking of the Gettysburg Address though?
The title of this post is stolen from the Daily Show book. FYI.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Give_me_liberty_or_give_me_death
I also read that ol’ TJ thought Patrick Henry to be a bit of an idiot. I think? Its hard to keep all those dudes separate in my head.
— MaxPower | @
yeah, i think he thought of him as kind of a demagogue; useful in stirring up the people to fight, but dangerous in that people would do whatever he said and sometimes he disagreed with TJ which we all know is a sign of EVIL.
it’s interesting, cuz we kind of think of all those people as buddies fighting for liberty together, but most of them hated the each other and they all had politics politics politics.
but they all had awesomer speeches than we have today. so at least the politics politics politics was of higher quality.
— midas | @
TJ and Patrick Henry came down on different sides of the Religious Freedom issue. And when the Constitutional convention was called, Henry did not attend (I think he wasn’t invited), but was quoted as saying “I smell a rat”.
Also, they do a reenactment of the speech every Sunday at St. John’s during the summer.
May 28, 2007 - September 03, 2007 (1:00 PM-3:00 PM)
— RVAkid | @
There will be a documentary w/ reinactment air this coming Monday night on PBS, at least here in Richmond. Check your local listings…
— john m | @
Reviewed the re-enactment two years ago. An incredible event. They are hosting a special re-enactment Sunday at 2pm. More here -
http://rivercityrapids.blogspot.com/2007/03/ill-take-liberty-thank-you-part-ii.html
— Jon | @
TJ and Patrick Henry were both students at William and Mary.
Patrick Henry slightly older than TJ and getting his law degree before Jefferson graduated. TJ disliked that PH rarely cracked his books, preferring instead to wow the courtroom with his piercing tongue than his depth of knowledge in the law. He also disapproved that PH would often sport his hunting mock rather than the higher fashions of the day in Williamsburg.
However, they did enjoy many late night conversations as students. As for so much of history, their relationship was complex, and as the men grew, so did their egos as well as the emotional distance between them.
— vanimal3000 | @