"I know, sir, how well it becomes a liberal man and a Christian to forget and forgive. As individuals professing a holy religion, it is our bounden duty to forgive injuries done us as individuals. But when the character of Christian you add the character of patriot, you are in a different situation. Our mild and holy system of religion inculcates an admirable maxim of forbearance. If your enemy smite one cheek, turn the other to him. But you must stop there. You cannot apply this to your country. As members of a social community, this maxim does not apply to you. When you consider injuries done to your country your political duty tells you of vengeance. Forgive as a private man, but never forgive public injuries. Observations of this nature are exceedingly unpleasant, but it is my duty to use them."

    Henry, Patrick (1736-1799), a American patriot lawyer of Virginia. He was educated in a country school and in a school kept by his father. Henry tried merchandising and farming, but lost money at both. He then turned his mind to the study of law, and was admitted to practice in 1760. Three years later he won reputation by the management of a famous law case, known as the Parson's Cause. At that day the clergymen of Virginia, like those of England, were entitled to salaries from public funds. Their salaries were reckoned in part, at least, in the currency of the day, namely tobacco. In 1758 the Virginian House of Burgesses passed an act granting the planters permission to discharge their obligations to the ministers by a cash payment of two pence for each pound of tobacco raised. The income of the clergy was diminished. The clergymen carried the matter to the king, with the result that the two pence act was repealed. The people were stirred up, because the king had overturned an act of their own legislation. The parsons brought suit to collect arrears, the share of tobacco being worth more than the two pence per pound. Henry defended the planters and won the case, the clergymen being allowed but a penny each in full of all claims. At the conclusion of the suit the crowd caught up Henry and carried him on their shoulders to the tavern. From this time on he was the idol of the people. Public office was his for the taking.
    In 1765, at the time of the passage of the Stamp Act, he was a member of the House of Burgesses. He offered a set of resolutions declaring the exclusive right of colonists as Englishmen to tax themselves. These resolutions, says Bancroft, "rang the alarm bell for the continent." In 1775 he stirred up the people of Virginia, much as Sam Adams stirred up the citizens of Boston. He attended the second Virginia Convention, and offered a resolution that the colony be put immediately in a state of defense. He made an eloquent plea for instant action, closing, it is said, with these words (according to a friend's report, written from memory, many years later):
    "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!"
    Henry was a member of the first Continental Congress. He acted as governor of Virginia during the war. He was dissatisfied with the federal constitution and opposed its ratification in 1788. He felt that it gave the general government too much power, a position taken by his state later at the opening of the Civil War.

Recommended readings: (Click on the link to purchase)

Title: A Son of Thunder: Patrick Henry and the American Republic || Author: Henry Mayer || ISDN: 0-80213-815-2 || Released: February 1992

While Henry Mayer exaggerates the extent to which Patrick Henry was a democrat, he certainly does a brilliant job in portraying the key figure in Virginia politics from the decade before the Revolution to through ratification of the constitution. This book should be on the shelf of everyone interested in the period in which Henry lived.   This is not the sole extensive biography of Henry, but the other book that fits that description -- a three-volume work, including a volume of Henry's surviving letters, by Henry's grandson -- is over a century old.

Title: Give Me Liberty: The Uncompromising Statesmanship of Patrick Henry || Author: David J Vaughn|| ISDN: 1-888-95222-9 || Released: February 1997

"know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!" These compelling words from a speech delivered by Patrick Henry in 1775 at the second Virginia Convention embody the spirit of American courage and patriotism. The speeches of the 'orator of liberty' fueled the fire of the struggle for American Independence. This insightful look at one of our country's most colorful and verbal forefathers will deepen every readers' appreciation for the leaders in our past and strengthen their understanding that, even today, freedom isn't free.