Patrick Henry summary

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Patrick Henry, (born May 29, 1736, Studley, Va.—died June 6, 1799, Red Hill, near Brookneal, Va., U.S.), American Revolutionary leader. Admitted to the bar in 1760, he soon built a large and profitable practice. His skill as an orator was displayed in the Parson’s Cause trial (1763). Elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1765, he opposed the Stamp Act; during the next decade he became a leader of the radical opposition to British rule. He was a founding member of the Committees of Correspondence and a delegate to the Continental Congress. At a Virginia assembly in 1775 he delivered his famous speech in defense of liberty, which concluded with the words “Give me liberty or give me death.” He helped draft the state’s first constitution in 1776 and was elected governor the same year (1776–79, 1784–86). As wartime governor, he ably supported Gen. George Washington; during his second term, he authorized the expedition of George Rogers Clark to invade the Illinois country. In 1788 he opposed ratification of the U.S. Constitution, which he felt did not sufficiently secure the rights of states and individuals. He was later instrumental in the adoption of the Bill of Rights.

George Washington and the Continental Congress

Continental Congress Summary

Continental Congress, in the period of the American Revolution, the body of delegates who spoke and acted collectively for the people of the colony-states that later became the United States of America. The term most specifically refers to the bodies that met in 1774 and 1775–81 and respectively

English colonies in 17th-century North America

American colonies Summary

American colonies, the 13 British colonies that were established during the 17th and early 18th centuries in what is now a part of the eastern United States. The colonies grew both geographically along the Atlantic coast and westward and numerically to 13 from the time of their founding to the

Virginia Summary

Virginia, constituent state of the United States of America, one of the original 13 colonies. It is bordered by Maryland to the northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, North Carolina and Tennessee to the south, Kentucky to the west, and West Virginia to the northwest. The state capital is

government Summary

Government, the political system by which a country or community is administered and regulated. Most of the key words commonly used to describe governments—words such as monarchy, oligarchy, and democracy—are of Greek or Roman origin. They have been current for more than 2,000 years and have not