CONTENT WARNING
Materials in the Library of Virginia’s collections contain historical terms, phrases, and images that are offensive to modern readers. These include demeaning and dehumanizing references to race, ethnicity, and nationality; enslaved or free status; physical and mental ability; and gender and sexual orientation.
Context
In March 1775, the American colonies appeared to be on a path to war with Britain. Tensions increased over British treatment of Bostonians after Parliament passed the Coercive Acts (also known as the Intolerable Acts) in 1774. In Virginia, Governor Lord Dunmore had dissolved the House of Burgesses in January 1775 so that members could not meet to discuss recent actions. Virginia leaders called for a second convention to determine how the colony should respond to growing British aggression. A previous convention had met in August 1774 and had established a non-importation agreement to stop buying British goods.
The Second Virginia Convention met from March 20 to March 27, 1775, in what is now known as St. John's Church, in Richmond. The elected delegates focused particularly on the fact that Dunmore had allowed a law mustering the militia to expire at a time when conflicts between the colonists and Indigenous peoples on Virginia's western frontier were escalating. A proposal from men in Fairfax County had recommended assembling the local militia and raising money for ammunition, something that only British-authorized legislative bodies had previously proposed.
Hanover County delegate Patrick Henry presented a resolution to muster the militia for the colony's defense. While not going so far as proposing to raise taxes to fund this effort, his formal request to the convention was a step towards governance without British oversight. Many present worried that this was a step too far, and a vigorous debate over Henry’s resolution ensued.
On March 23, Patrick Henry defended his call to arms with a dramatic speech to the convention, whose members included George Washington, Richard Henry Lee, and Thomas Jefferson. Henry argued that the British government had failed to respond satisfactorily to American petitions and requests over the previous decade and that it was time to face the truth that the time for reconciliation with the mother country had potentially passed. He emphasized that the standing British military troops in the colonies, with more on the way, did not bode well for peace. He closed with the famous words “I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!” The convention passed Henry’s resolution by a narrow margin. Not even a month later, the first shots in the American Revolution were fired at Lexington in Massachusetts. Early in May, Henry marched on Williamsburg with his militia to demand the return of gunpowder Dunmore had taken from the magazine.
Patrick Henry’s speech has been often repeated and memorialized, but it was not recorded at the time of the convention or during his lifetime. Instead, William Wirt reconstructed the speech in his 1817 biography of Henry. Wirt included the transcription by St. George Tucker, who had related the speech to Wirt in an 1805 letter that has since been lost. By all accounts, Wirt was a careful researcher who tried to corroborate his material. He may have consulted others who had been present, such as Edmund Randolph, who had a strong positive reaction to the speech but did not at the time record Henry’s words. Thomas Jefferson also read a copy of Wirt’s biography and presumably may have called out any inaccuracies. Patrick Henry's exact words remain unknown on that fateful day when the Virginia convention determined to arm the commonwealth in defense against potential British aggression. His actions, however, helped to chart Virginia’s revolutionary course, and these words have become ingrained in American popular history and culture.
Citation: Excerpt from March 23, 1775, speech in William Wirt, Sketches of the Life and Character of Patrick Henry, 2d ed. (1818), pp. 122─123, Special Collections, Library of Virginia.
Related Document Bank entries:
Call for a Convention to Meet in Williamsburg, 1774
Proclamation Against Patrick Henry, 1775
Learn more about the Second Virginia Convention at St. John's Church.
See records from the Virginia Revolutionary Conventions, 1774─1776 in our Digital Collections Discovery. Learn more about these records in The UncommonWealth blog.
Read Henry's entire speech in the Sketches of the Life and Character of Patrick Henry (pp. 119-123) online at HathiTrust.
The Second Virginia Convention met from March 20 to March 27, 1775, in what is now known as St. John's Church, in Richmond. The elected delegates focused particularly on the fact that Dunmore had allowed a law mustering the militia to expire at a time when conflicts between the colonists and Indigenous peoples on Virginia's western frontier were escalating. A proposal from men in Fairfax County had recommended assembling the local militia and raising money for ammunition, something that only British-authorized legislative bodies had previously proposed.
Hanover County delegate Patrick Henry presented a resolution to muster the militia for the colony's defense. While not going so far as proposing to raise taxes to fund this effort, his formal request to the convention was a step towards governance without British oversight. Many present worried that this was a step too far, and a vigorous debate over Henry’s resolution ensued.
On March 23, Patrick Henry defended his call to arms with a dramatic speech to the convention, whose members included George Washington, Richard Henry Lee, and Thomas Jefferson. Henry argued that the British government had failed to respond satisfactorily to American petitions and requests over the previous decade and that it was time to face the truth that the time for reconciliation with the mother country had potentially passed. He emphasized that the standing British military troops in the colonies, with more on the way, did not bode well for peace. He closed with the famous words “I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!” The convention passed Henry’s resolution by a narrow margin. Not even a month later, the first shots in the American Revolution were fired at Lexington in Massachusetts. Early in May, Henry marched on Williamsburg with his militia to demand the return of gunpowder Dunmore had taken from the magazine.
Patrick Henry’s speech has been often repeated and memorialized, but it was not recorded at the time of the convention or during his lifetime. Instead, William Wirt reconstructed the speech in his 1817 biography of Henry. Wirt included the transcription by St. George Tucker, who had related the speech to Wirt in an 1805 letter that has since been lost. By all accounts, Wirt was a careful researcher who tried to corroborate his material. He may have consulted others who had been present, such as Edmund Randolph, who had a strong positive reaction to the speech but did not at the time record Henry’s words. Thomas Jefferson also read a copy of Wirt’s biography and presumably may have called out any inaccuracies. Patrick Henry's exact words remain unknown on that fateful day when the Virginia convention determined to arm the commonwealth in defense against potential British aggression. His actions, however, helped to chart Virginia’s revolutionary course, and these words have become ingrained in American popular history and culture.
Citation: Excerpt from March 23, 1775, speech in William Wirt, Sketches of the Life and Character of Patrick Henry, 2d ed. (1818), pp. 122─123, Special Collections, Library of Virginia.
Related Document Bank entries:
Call for a Convention to Meet in Williamsburg, 1774
Proclamation Against Patrick Henry, 1775
Learn more about the Second Virginia Convention at St. John's Church.
See records from the Virginia Revolutionary Conventions, 1774─1776 in our Digital Collections Discovery. Learn more about these records in The UncommonWealth blog.
Read Henry's entire speech in the Sketches of the Life and Character of Patrick Henry (pp. 119-123) online at HathiTrust.
Standards
VS.5, VUS.4, USI.6
Suggested Questions
Preview Activity
Analyze: Read through the speech. What reasons does Henry give for his argument that Virginia needed to arm itself against the British? How does he try to persuade delegates who were reluctant to go this far?
Post-Activities
Dig Deeper: Read the Document Bank entry of the Proclamation of Dunmore against Patrick Henry. Given what actions Henry took before and after the Second Virginia Convention, do you believe he said these famous words in this speech? Why or why not, and what evidence supports/disputes the claim that he made the speech?
Political Plans: Imagine you are a politician who disagrees with Henry’s arguments. How would you try to convince others to vote against creating an independent Virginia militia?