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| Patrick Henry Mini Biography for March By Gary R. Wilson May 29, 1736-June 6, 1799 |  |
Patrick Henry, born in Hanover County, Virginia was best known for his commanding oratory, his service in the Virginia House of Burgesses where he lead the Old Dominion and the united colonies toward revolution, and as governor of Virginia for five terms. Yet Henry’s greatest, but lesser known contribution to the United States was his work to establish the basic rights and liberties that American’s take for granted, the Bill of Rights to the Constitution.
Henry was born in modest circumstances in Hanover County where there was little evidence of the Royal Crown of England. Rustic and agricultural, Hanover County, like most of Virginia, was settled by farmers, and serviced by few artisans. Henry matured to reject the hardscrabble existence of the small farmer, and inspired by the affluence of the visiting circuit riding lawyers, took up the practice of law—1760-- by apprenticing to a local attorney. The success of Henry is one reason why the Commonwealth of Virginia retains the option to this day of allowing aspiring lawyers to “read” the law with a licensed attorney and become accredited through examination.
Henry excelled as a lawyer. His cases were stronger for his outstanding ability to sway juries with powerful speeches than through finely crafted legal briefs. Henry also took on the causes of the common subject (subjects of the Crown of England; they became citizens of the United States). Most famously, Henry argued successfully for religious freedom, and the free practice of religious denominations outside of the Church of England, then the state supported official church. Henry’s victory in the Parson’s Case in 1763 won him fame throughout Virginia while cementing the concept of free religious practice. It is Henry’s work for tolerance that has made the free practice of religion, without state or federal involvement, a hallmark of American Liberty.
In 1764 Henry was elected to the House of Burgesses. Not long to be obscure, Henry made his legislative mark in responding to the Crown’s imposition of the Stamp Act of 1765. Henry argued for the rights of the colonies as they were guaranteed in their charters. Henry’s words were so strong that after he left Williamsburg, the seat of Virginia’s government, conservatives moderated the wording of his speeches and resolutions to be sent to England. Yet the original language was widely reported throughout the colonies and inspired others such as Sam and John Adams in Massachusetts.
As the relationship between England and America deteriorated, and war became more likely, Henry took a prominent role in the response and organization of Virginia’s independence movement. Contributing more than just his famous speech that ended’ “Give me liberty or give me death”, Henry led a militia to recover gunpowder stolen by Lord Dunmore, the Virginia Royal Governor. Henry forced the British governor to make payment for the powder. Other leading Virginian’s at the time, even George Washington, were not able to act swiftly enough to challenge Dunmore as had Henry.
Henry further served the Commonwealth by attending the first and second Continental Congresses in 1774, 1775. Briefly, he served as Virginia’s military commander, and was chosen as a committee member to draw up Virginia’s constitution.
Once established as an independent Virginia, Henry was elected its first governor. Williamsburg briefly remained the capital, and Henry worked with energy as governor out of the former governor’s palace (an elaborate and beautifully reconstructed building that can be toured today). Henry had risen from his simple birth to become in 1776 the governor of the most prosperous state in the new Union while serving in a palace. It is unlikely that Henry failed to note or appreciate his stellar climb in place and importance.
Henry did serve well and was reelected over and over again. As many public officials of the day, Henry was impoverished by his public service—wealth from offices of trust is a more modern phenomenon. Retirement in 1788 allowed Henry to pursue his legal career and to acquire some financial stability. Even so, the former governor found little rest as he was pressed into service in the state constitution convention which was to ratify the national charter. Henry opposed the adoption of the U.S. Constitution as he believed that it took many liberties from the citizens, and placed the federal government in a too dominant position over the individual and the states. Henry’s opposition resulted in a compromise where the Constitution was accepted by Virginia, but at the insistence of the addition of a Bill of Rights to protect the liberties of the people.
Henry, at the urging of George Washington, came out of retirement from his Red Hill estate in Appomattox to run for the legislature yet again. Henry won one last time, but died in 1799 before he could take his seat in the capitol in Richmond.
Henry’s career was one that earned him the love of his “fellow citizens”, a phrase that Henry coined first. By working to secure the religious freedom of Virginians, the political freedom of Virginians, and the liberty of all Americans, Henry made the United States a nation dedicated to liberty, and a home for tolerance. Henry, if he could be consulted, would be the first to say in this, or in any age, that American freedom is not assured, nor our liberties guaranteed, even by the greatest institutions. Henry worked for the common citizen. Henry’s public service always kept his constituent’s liberties in mind. By his doing so, their liberty was never endangered by his leadership, but their rights, even while facing a foreign enemy on American shores, were preserved and defended.
Perhaps in these refined, enlighten days an invincible attachment to the dearest rights of man…may be deemed old fashioned; if so, I am content…to become oldfashioned…Patrick Henry
FoundersOfAmerica.org mini biographies only scratch the surface of Virginia’s great Founding Fathers. That is why we suggest you read more about Patrick Henry. FOA suggests Son of Thunder: Patrick Henry and the American Republic By Henry Mayer, Grove Press. It may be found in many fine stores or on the Book Section of this web site.