About Patrick Henry Legacy

Who Is Patrick Henry?

What is the Patrick Henry Legacy Program?

Who is Patrick Henry?

Private businessman, fiery rhetorician, public servant, devoted father, radical agitator - all these descriptions can be justly attributed to our founding father, Patrick Henry.  Above all, however, he can be best described with two titles—patriot and American. Throughout his life, he gave new clarity to the definition of the former while essentially inventing the template for the latter. We owe to Henry our nation's strong foundation of individual liberty, sound moral values, freedom of speech, political courage, and dedication.

Henry was born May 29, 1736 in Hanover County in the colony of Virginia .  He would see that colony's transition to an independent Commonwealth as part of the United States and call the area home for his entire life.

Henry, a self-educated man, married his first wife Sarah Shelton when he was 18, and seemed to be n the path to become a hard-working Virginia farmer. When a fire destroyed his farm in 1757, Henry left the farming business to help his father-in-law run the popular Hanover Tavern.

The tavern was directly across the street from the county courthouse, sparking Henry's interest in the legal process. He began to read law and observe trials at the court. By April 15 of 1760, he passed the bar and began to practice law in Virginia.

In 1763, Henry rose to prominence on the national scene during a case known as the Parson's Cause.  The government of the King of England had negated the Two-Penny Act passed by the Virginia General Assembly. Essentially, the issue was whether the crown or the people of Virginia could set the price of tobacco paid to clergy. In it, Henry argued that if the King would go against a ruling made by the people in their own best interest, then he was "a tyrant who forfeits the allegiance of his subjects." His radical stance had come to the fore, and there was wide public acceptance.

By May 1765, Henry had been elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses. Here, he would make a speech against the infamous Stamp Act by the English government, which was already stoking the seminal sparks of revolution across the country. The Virginia Stamp Act Resolutions passed on the strength of this speech, an act of legislature pro-British forces labeled as treasonous.

With the colonies on the verge of revolution and his fame rising as the coming rebellion's supreme agitator, Henry's personal life would soon be turned upside down. Soon after his purchase of the tranquil Scotchtown plantation, his wife Sarah was stricken with a debilitating mental illness - now believed to be a severe case of post-partum depression after the birth of their sixth child - and died.

A short time later, on March 23, 1775, Henry made a speech that would change the course of not only his life and the lives of those in the colony, but of the entire world's history. Amongst such luminaries of the Revolution as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and others, Henry held the floor with a commanding presence, and won the day with his words.

Henry spoke with clear reasoning, arguing that it was the British who had already begun the war. Even with his well-reasoned logic, Henry's speech was a vociferous call-to-arms, culminating in a line that would define the revolution, "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!"

Having been the moral leader of Virginia's cause for independence, Henry was elected the first governor of the independent Commonwealth of Virginia in 1776, a post he would hold five times. The following year Henry married Dorothea Dandridge, who would give birth to eleven children over their 22 year marriage.

Over the course of his political career, Henry helping found Hampden Sydney College in 1783, fought against the adoption of the Constitution without a bill of rights, and turned down prestigious federal government positions ranging from Senator to Chief Justice to Secretary of State in favor of resuming his law practice to provide for his wife and seventeen children.

Convinced to run for the Virginia legislature once more by Washington, Henry made his final public speech to voters on March 4, 1799. This was a moving plea for national unity, during which he declared, "United we stand, divided we fall. Let us not split into factions which must destroy that union upon which our existence hangs." The speech has been heralded as a fitting final word from Henry the statesman by many historians.

Patrick Henry died on June 6, 1799, just before his final term as a legislator could begin. He was buried at Red Hill, which has since become recognized as the National Memorial to Henry. His gravestone reads, "His Fame His Best Epitaph."  back to top

What is the Patrick Henry Legacy Program

To honor his memory and keep his vision for America alive, the Patrick Henry Legacy Program works to keep Patrick Henry's strong values of free speech, individual liberty, courage, love of country, and strong character alive in the hearts of all patriotic Americans. Today, the program keeps the memory of Patrick Henry by:

Already, the Patrick Henry Legacy program has had a great impact:

• Through the generosity of our donors, we were able to provide major funding for the production of "Liberty or Death," a documentary on the events in pre-Revolutionary Virginia, culminating in Henry’s most famous speech. "Liberty or Death" has been featured on public television stations all over the nation.
  
  
• We are constantly working to provide copies of "Liberty or Death" to students, educators, and libraries free of charge. We have sent thousands across the country and send more daily. If you are an educator and would like a free copy of "Liberty of Death", please visit our Resources page,   back to top

Scotchtown Plantation - the Henry Family home during the turbulent years leading up to and in the beginning of the Revolution - was granted funds to provide operational costs, signage to the site, as well as a Historic Structures Report to help preserve the site for future generations. Chipping paint, exposing two hundred year old wood, at Scotchtown demonstrates the need for funding at the various Patrick Henry historical sites.

• The Patrick Henry Legacy Program is an affiliate member of the Road to Revolution Heritage Trail, linking various Patrick Henry historical sites. The Legacy program provided the Trail with funding to produce travel brochures promoting the sites.
  
  
• A grant to St. John's Church in Richmond, Virginia – the site of the Second Virginia Convention and Henry's stirring "Liberty or Death" speech – resulted in the creation of new costumes for professional actors to reenact the convention, providing an interactive window into history that educates and entertains patriotic Americans of all ages.
  
  
• We have hosted two student retreats, gathering college students from around the nation in Richmond Virginia, so they can learn, not only about how to promote freedom of speech on their campuses, but also to literally walk in Patrick Henry’s footsteps. The students at the retreats tour various Henry historical sites, speak with expert Henry historians, and attend re-enactments.
  
  
• The Patrick Henry Legacy program has also provided financial support to The Patrick Henry National Memorial and Colonial Williamsburg.

You can do your part to help preserve Henry's legacy for future generations of Americans by visiting our Contact page to make a much needed and highly appreciated tax deductible contribution.

Most importantly, teach your children about the rich legacy left to all Americans by Patrick Henry. By having them literally walk in Henry's footsteps at the various Patrick Henry historical sites in the Commonwealth of Virginia, history will come alive for them.

Red Hill Plantation - the site of the Patrick Henry National Memorial