1、Morning everyone. Patrick Henry was an orator and politician who led the movement for independence in Virginia in the 1770s. Have you ever heard someone speak so passionately that the speech moved you to do something? Even as a young man, Patrick Henry had that kind of influence in the American Colo
2、nies. A Founding Father, he served as the first and sixth post-colonial Governor of Virginia. Henry led the opposition to the Stamp Act of 1765 and is well remembered for his Give me Liberty, or give me Death! speech. Along with Samuel Adams and Thomas Paine, he is remembered as one of the most infl
3、uential exponents of Republicanism, promoters of the American Revolution and Independence, especially in his denunciations of corruption in government officials and his defense of historic rights. After the Revolution, Henry was a leader of the anti-federalists in Virginia who opposed the United Sta
4、tes Constitution, fearing that it endangered the rights of the States, as well as the freedoms of individuals.Patrick Henry was one of the leading lights of the American Revolution, a voice that would not be silenced until Americans were free and could govern themselves. He was born in 1736, in Hano
5、ver County, Virginia. He was educated at home, where he learned Latin, among other things. He tried to be a business owner, but the business went bankrupt. He studied law and earned his law license in 1760.He made a name for himself in winning the famed Parsons Cause, during which he argued that a k
6、ing who would veto a law passed by a locally elected legislature was a tyrant who forfeits the allegiance of his subjects. This was the beginning of his struggle to ensure independence for the 13 Colonies. Henry was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses, one of the colonies first representative
7、 governments, in 1764.The following year, he introduced seven resolutions against Great Britains new tax on paper the Stamp Act. The Stamp Act of 1765 (short title Duties in American Colonies Act 1765; 5 George III, c. 12) was a direct tax imposed by the British Parliament specifically on the coloni
8、es of British America. The act required that many printed materials in the colonies be produced on stamped paper produced in London and carrying an embossed revenue stamp.12 These printed materials were legal documents, magazines, newspapers and many other types of paper used throughout the colonies
9、. Like previous taxes, the stamp tax had to be paid in valid British currency, not in colonial paper money.3 The purpose of the tax was to help pay for troops stationed in North America after the British victory in the Seven Years War. The British government felt that the colonies were the primary b
10、eneficiaries of this military presence, and should pay at least a portion of the expense.With fiery words and a loud, convincing voice, Henry convinced his fellow burgesses to approve the resolutions, which sent a loud and clear message to the government in Great Britain that the American colonists
11、were tired of taxation without representation.His Stamp Act Resolutions were, arguably, the first shot fired in the Revolutionary War. Henry continued making speeches and practicing law throughout the turbulent years between his first famous speech and his next one, which he delivered in March 1775.
12、 He spoke to his fellow Virginians at St. Johns Church in Richmond, urging them to take up arms in self-defense. Great Britain had gone too far in imposing taxes and other restrictions on Americans, and it was time for the colonists to defend themselves. He ended this famous speech with the words I
13、know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death.Among the delegates to the convention were future US Presidents Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. Reportedly, those in attendance, upon hearing the speech, shouted, give me liberty or give me death!This speec
14、h took place on the same day that the British marched on Concord. The resulting battle, also at Lexington, is considered the beginning of the Revolutionary War. When Henry learned that Virginia Governor Dunmore had seized gunpowder from the storehouse in Williamsburg, he mobilized the militia of Han
15、over County and marched with them to demand the gunpowder back or money in exchange for it. The governor paid the money, then declared Henry an outlaw.Though he never himself served in the army, Patrick Henry continued the fight for independence in the House of Burgesses. He attended the Virginia co
16、nstitutional convention and became the first governor of the new commonwealth of Virginia. He served three terms as governor before retiring to his home on Red Hill Plantation. He did not attend the Constitutional Convention because he believed that the federal government should be weak, with the st
17、ates having more power. He was one of the leaders, however, of the movement to add a Bill of Rights to the Constitution.His health declined in the last year of his life, and he had to refuse President George Washingtons appointment as Secretary of State and President John Adamss appointment as Minis
18、ter to France. He died on June 6, 1799, at his home. He was 62.Ok ,lets have a conclusion. Patrick Henry was one of the leading lights of the American Revolution, a voice that would not be silenced until Americans were free and could govern themselves.He was a great man and was inspectable for what
19、he had done for America.As the first governor of Virginia and as a state legislator, Henry continued to have profound influence on the development of the new nation. He worked for the addition of the first ten amendments to the Constitution. Known as the Bill of Rights, they guarantee certain freedoms, such as the freedom of speech and religion. Can you imagine the U.S. without such rights?Ok thats all. Thank you .
