127 Facts About Patrick Henry

Patrick Henry was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses, where he quickly became notable for his inflammatory rhetoric against the Stamp Act of 1765.

In 1774, Patrick Henry served as a delegate to the First Continental Congress where he signed the Petition to the King, which he helped to draft, and the Continental Association.

Patrick Henry urged independence, and when the Fifth Virginia Convention endorsed this in 1776, he served on the committee charged with drafting the Virginia Declaration of Rights and the original Virginia Constitution.

Patrick Henry was promptly elected governor under the new charter and served a total of five one-year terms.

Patrick Henry actively opposed the ratification of the United States Constitution, both fearing a powerful central government and because there was as yet no Bill of Rights.

Patrick Henry returned to the practice of law in his final years, declining several offices under the federal government.

Patrick Henry is remembered for his oratory and as an enthusiastic promoter of the fight for independence.

Patrick Henry's father was John Henry, an immigrant from Aberdeenshire, Scotland, who had attended King's College, University of Aberdeen, before emigrating to Virginia in the 1720s.

Patrick Henry shared his name with his uncle, an Anglican minister, and until the elder Patrick's death in 1777 often went as Patrick Henry Jr.

Patrick Henry attended a local school until about the age of 10.

The young Patrick Henry engaged in the typical recreations of the times, such as music and dancing, and was particularly fond of hunting.

Patrick Henry's sisters were pioneer and writer Annie Henry Christian and Elizabeth Henry Campbell Russell, a Methodist lay leader.

The religious revival known as the Great Awakening reached Virginia when Patrick Henry was a child.

Patrick Henry's father was staunchly Anglican, but his mother often took him to hear Presbyterian preachers.

Patrick Henry learned that oratory should reach the heart, not just persuade based on reason.

In 1754, Patrick Henry married Sarah Shelton, reportedly in the parlor of her family house, Rural Plains.

Pine Slash was exhausted from earlier cultivations, and Patrick Henry worked with the slaves to clear fresh fields.

The latter half of the 1750s were years of drought in Virginia, and after the main house burned down, Patrick Henry gave up and moved to the Hanover Tavern, owned by Sarah's father.

Patrick Henry often served as host at Hanover Tavern as part of his duties and entertained the guests by playing the fiddle.

Jefferson in 1824 told Daniel Webster, "Patrick Henry was originally a bar-keeper", a characterization that Henry's biographers have found to be unfair; that his position was more general than that, and that the main business of Hanover Tavern was serving travelers, not alcohol.

Patrick Henry was engaged as counsel by Maury's parish vestry for this hearing.

Patrick Henry responded with a one-hour speech, ignoring the question of damages, but which focused on the unconstitutionality of the veto of the Two Penny Act by the king's government.

Patrick Henry urged the jury to make an example of Maury, for the benefit of any who might seek to imitate him, and suggested the jury return damages of one farthing.

Patrick Henry boosted his standing further in 1764 by representing Nathaniel West Dandridge, elected for Hanover County, in an election contest before the Burgesses.

Patrick Henry is said to have made a brilliant speech in defense of the rights of voters, but the text does not survive.

Patrick Henry lost the case but met influential members on the Committee of Privileges and Elections, such as Richard Patrick Henry Lee, Peyton Randolph and George Wythe.

Patrick Henry left immediately for Williamsburg as the session had already begun.

Considerable debate began over the proposed measure, and in Virginia pamphleteers developed arguments Patrick Henry had made in the Parson's Cause.

Edmund and Helen Morgan, in their account of the Stamp Act crisis, suggest that Patrick Henry saw the Stamp Act as both a threat to Virginians' rights and an opportunity to advance himself politically.

Texts are reconstructions, for the most part based on recollections decades later, by which time both the speech and Patrick Henry had become famous.

The Patrick Henry family moved to a new house on his Louisa County property, probably in late 1765, and lived there until 1769 when he returned to Hanover County.

Jefferson later complained that Patrick Henry was lazy and ignorant in the practice of the law, his sole talent trying cases before juries, and accused Patrick Henry of charging criminal defendants high fees to get them acquitted.

In 1769, Patrick Henry was admitted to practice before the General Court of Virginia in Williamsburg, a venue more prestigious than the county courts.

Patrick Henry invested some of his earnings in frontier lands, in what is the western part of Virginia, as well as in present-day West Virginia and Kentucky.

Patrick Henry claimed ownership though many of them were controlled by the Native Americans, and he sought to get the colonial government to recognize his claims.

Patrick Henry foresaw the potential of the Ohio Valley and was involved in schemes to found settlements.

In 1773, Patrick Henry came into conflict with the royal governor, John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore.

The Burgesses wanted to rebuke Dunmore for his actions, and Patrick Henry was part of a committee of eight that drafted a resolution thanking the governor for the capture of the gang but affirming that using the "usual mode" of criminal procedure protected both the guilty and the innocent.

The Burgesses were sitting when in 1774, word came that Parliament had voted to close the port of Boston in retaliation for the Boston Tea Party, and several burgesses, including Patrick Henry, convened at the Raleigh Tavern to formulate a response.

Mason and Patrick Henry formed a close political relationship that lasted until Mason's death in 1792.

Patrick Henry was chosen as one of seven delegates, tying for second place with Washington, burgess for Fairfax County, both receiving three votes less than Randolph.

The secretary of the Congress, Charles Thomson, wrote that when Patrick Henry rose, he had expected little from a man dressed as plainly as a rural minister.

Patrick Henry was involved in the first dispute within the Congress on whether each colony should have an equal vote, taking the position that there should be proportional representation giving the larger colonies a greater voice.

Patrick Henry believed the purpose of the Congress should be to mobilize public opinion towards war.

The Congress decided on a petition to the king; Patrick Henry prepared two drafts, but neither proved satisfactory.

Patrick Henry died in 1775, after which Henry avoided all objects that reminded him of her and sold Scotchtown in 1777.

Patrick Henry offered amendments to raise a militia independent of royal authority in terms that recognized that conflict with Britain was inevitable, sparking the opposition of moderates.

Patrick Henry's speech carried the day, and the convention adopted his amendments.

Contemporary historians observe that Patrick Henry was known to have used fear of Indian and slave revolts in promoting military action against the British and that, according to the only written first-hand account of the speech, Patrick Henry used some graphic name-calling that Wirt did not include in his heroic rendition.

Patrick Henry had departed for Philadelphia, having been elected a delegate to the Second Continental Congress, but a messenger caught up with him before he left Hanover County, and he returned to take command of the local militia.

Jefferson later stated that Patrick Henry played only a supporting role, and though there is not a complete record, the fact that he was not written of as having an impact appears to confirm that.

Patrick Henry moved to organize his regiment and had no difficulty recruiting men.

Patrick Henry saw no action himself, and there were murmurs in the convention against his command; some feared he was too radical to be an effective military leader.

Patrick Henry was to retain his rank of colonel but was placed under a former subordinate.

Patrick Henry refused and left the army; his troops were outraged by the slight to him and considered leaving service, but he calmed the situation.

Patrick Henry introduced a resolution declaring Virginia independent and urging the Congress to declare all the colonies free.

Patrick Henry entered into no subtlety of reasoning but was roused by the now apparent spirit of the people as a pillar of fire, which notwithstanding the darkness of the prospect would conduct to the promised land.

Patrick Henry was appointed to a committee under the leadership of Archibald Cary.

Patrick Henry got it removed by telling the delegates that some high offender might be reached by no other means.

Patrick Henry opposed the weakness of the governor, feeling it was risky at a time of war to have the executive so weak, but his views did not prevail.

Patrick Henry helped recruit new troops for Washington, but his efforts were hampered by several issues, including the weakness of Patrick Henry's office.

Patrick Henry brought 12 slaves with her, adding to the 30 Patrick Henry already had.

Patrick Henry sold Scotchtown in 1777 and moved to Leatherwood Plantation in Henry County, which the General Assembly had just created and named for him.

Patrick Henry supported Washington when Dr Benjamin Rush of Philadelphia, one of those unenthusiastic about Washington, sent the governor an unsigned letter, discussing machinations against the general.

Patrick Henry immediately sent Washington the letter, and though it is uncertain if Patrick Henry recognized Rush's handwriting, Washington did, tipping him off to the conspiracy.

At Leatherwood, Patrick Henry devoted himself to local affairs in the thinly-populated county and was given seats on the county court, as prominent landowners were, and on the parish vestry.

Patrick Henry refused to be elected a delegate to Congress, stating that his personal business and past illness made that impossible.

When Governor Jefferson sent a note to him in early 1780, Patrick Henry replied with gratitude, complaining of his isolation, and wrote of his many concerns about the state of affairs as the war continued.

Patrick Henry was successful in defeating it, but after he left Richmond, supporters persuaded the legislature to pass it.

Patrick Henry rode with the troops, though he did not lead them, and they were generally successful in suppressing the resistance.

Several legislators complained of Jefferson's actions and called for an inquiry into the conduct of the executive, and Patrick Henry was among those who took the lead.

Peace brought many adjustments, and Patrick Henry sponsored legislation to reform Virginia's currency and to adjust payments from contracts still outstanding from before periods of high inflation.

Jefferson and others wanted to reopen contracts that had been already settled but in depreciated currency; Patrick Henry thought that unjust, and because of his influence in the General Assembly, his version prevailed.

Patrick Henry introduced legislation to permit Loyalists to return to Virginia.

Patrick Henry worked together with James Madison, a delegate after three years in Congress, on a number of issues.

Madison, like Jefferson, desired a separation between church and state that meant no public financing of religion, but Patrick Henry believed that taxpayers who were Christians should be assessed for the maintenance of the Protestant church of their choice, financing an array of churches in the way that Anglicanism had been funded in Virginia until the start of the war.

Patrick Henry was not alone in this belief; both Washington and Lee supported such plans.

The General Assembly had passed legislation for new arms for the militia, and Patrick Henry worked with Lafayette to have them sent from France.

Patrick Henry had Campbell removed as a militia officer and from his other county offices, as well as ousting Campbell's supporters, replacing them with residents of known loyalty.

Patrick Henry sought to advance Virginia's development, both as governor and through his personal investments.

Patrick Henry backed schemes to open navigation on the upper Potomac and James rivers, envisioning canals to connect them to the Ohio River Valley.

Patrick Henry supported a scheme to develop a canal across the Great Dismal Swamp, believing that with it, the trade of eastern North Carolina would flow through Norfolk.

Patrick Henry owned land along the proposed route and sought to interest General Washington in the scheme but was not successful.

In 1786, Patrick Henry was more assiduous in notifying delegates to the Annapolis Conference called with the support of Madison, who was appointed a delegate.

Patrick Henry stepped down at the end of his fifth term, stating he needed to devote time to his family and earn money to support it.

Hampden-Sydney College, which he had helped found in 1775, is located in that county, and Patrick Henry enrolled his sons there.

Patrick Henry refused the appointment, alleging it would be difficult financially.

Patrick Henry was in Richmond for the autumn legislative session as delegate for Prince Edward County.

Patrick Henry opposed the Constitution because of its grant of a strong executive, the president; he had not fought to free Virginia from King George to surrender such powers to what might prove a despot.

Patrick Henry accordingly deemed the Constitution a backwards step and a betrayal of those who had died in the Revolutionary cause.

Patrick Henry suggested that the document put too much power in the hands of too few.

Patrick Henry noted that the Constitution, proposed without a Bill of Rights, did not protect individual rights,.

Patrick Henry likely realized he was fighting a losing battle as sentiment in the convention moved towards ratification, but he continued to speak at length, and his speeches fill nearly one-quarter of the pages of the Richmond convention's debates.

Governor Randolph, who had become a supporter of ratification, suggested that if the convention allowed Patrick Henry to continue arguing, it would last six months rather than six weeks.

Madison wrote to Washington that Patrick Henry still hoped for amendments to weaken the power of the federal government, possibly to be proposed by a second national convention.

Patrick Henry returned to the House of Delegates where he successfully defeated Madison's effort to become federal senator from Virginia, for under the original Constitution senators were elected by legislators, not the people.

Patrick Henry saw to it that the requested amendments were incorporated in petitions from the legislature to the federal Congress.

Patrick Henry was disappointed when the First Congress passed only amendments dealing with personal liberties, not those designed to weaken the government.

Not fully reconciled to the federal government, Patrick Henry contemplated a new republic in the sparsely-settled frontier lands, but his plans came to nothing.

Patrick Henry did not travel as widely for cases as he had in the 1760s, confining his practice mostly to Prince Edward and Bedford counties, though in a compelling case, or for a large enough fee, he would travel to Richmond or over the mountains to Greenbrier County.

Henry was part of the defense team in Jones v Walker before the federal court in 1791; his co-counsel included John Marshall, who prepared the written pleadings while Henry did much of the courtroom advocacy.

Patrick Henry found himself more aligned with Washington than with Jefferson and Madison, and Washington still considered himself indebted to Patrick Henry for notifying him about the Conway Cabal.

Washington tried to get Patrick Henry to accept positions as Secretary of State and as minister to Spain, and Virginia Governor "Light-Horse" Harry Lee wanted to appoint him to the Senate.

Patrick Henry's continuing popularity in Virginia made him an attractive ally, and even Jefferson tried to recruit him, sending word though a mutual friend that he bore no grudge.

Patrick Henry sold his property in Prince Edward County in 1792, moving with his family to Long Island, a plantation in Campbell County.

In 1794, Patrick Henry purchased Red Hill near Brookneal, Virginia in Charlotte County, where he and his family lived much of the year, though they moved to Long Island in the "sickly season".

Patrick Henry was gratified at the election of his old friend John Adams as president in 1796 over his foe Jefferson, but Patrick Henry's commitment to the Federalist Party was tested by the repressive Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798.

Patrick Henry chose to say nothing but supported the campaign of Marshall, a moderate Federalist, for the House of Representatives; Marshall won narrowly.

Patrick Henry was under considerable pressure from Virginia Federalists to return to politics, but it was not until former President Washington urged him to run for the legislature in early 1799 that Patrick Henry gave in.

Patrick Henry did not free any slaves, despite his speeches against enslavement by tyrants and despite his various comments opposing the institution of slavery itself.

Several of Patrick Henry's homes are recognized for their association with him.

Patrick Henry helped found Hampden-Sydney College, believing that "every free state" should promote "useful knowledge amongst its citizens".

Patrick Henry was an original trustee and sent seven of his sons there.

Patrick Henry was instrumental in getting its charter passed by the General Assembly in 1783.

Fort Patrick Henry stood in what is Wheeling, West Virginia, but was at the time part of Virginia.

Fort Patrick Henry was built during the American Revolutionary War along the South Fork Holston River at the present-day site of Kingsport, Tennessee.

Camp Patrick Henry was a World War II-era military camp near Newport News, Virginia.

Patrick Henry has been honored twice on US postage stamps.

Wirt did not print many of Jefferson's criticisms of Patrick Henry, who had irritated Jefferson to such an extent he was still criticizing Patrick Henry to guests at Monticello in 1824.

Jefferson's negative assessments of Patrick Henry, whether justified or not, have adversely affected Patrick Henry's historical reputation.

Patrick Henry has always been acclaimed by Americans for the brilliance of his political oratory.

That opposition by Patrick Henry came to be seen by many writers, even those friendly to Patrick Henry, as a blot on an otherwise admirable career.

Patrick Henry has been cited as a hero to both Left and Right but has become a particular favorite of the latter.

Patrick Henry is especially attractive to Christian conservatives, who cite his deep religious beliefs as well as his writings and speeches in favor of Christian virtue and in defense of religious liberty.

In 2000, Patrick Henry College was founded in Purcellville, Virginia, in large part for those who had been homeschooled.

Patrick Henry's memory has taken on a vague, patriotic cast that fails to capture his fractious yet exemplary life.

The "real" Patrick Henry was branded a traitor and apostate on multiple occasions by his many enemies, including Thomas Jefferson.