There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us. Henry spoke in support of his proposals and argued that a war had already begun, saying in part:īesides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. Tories were well represented at the convention and in the general population as well. Adoption of these measures was in no way assured.
Among the delegates, there was the 39-year-old Henry, who introduced a series of resolutions designed to prepare the colony for military action. Parliament reacted in February 1775 by declaring the American colonies to be in a state of rebellion.įollowing this torrent of events, a second session of the Virginia Convention opened in March 1775 at St. Congress urged resistance to the Coercive Acts, the formation of militias and the establishment of a boycott of British goods.
As a reaction to these events, the First Continental Congress convened in September 1774, giving expression to the belief that violation of rights in Massachusetts threatened liberties throughout the colonies. Trade and local governmental activities were suppressed and British troop strength in Boston was increased. The Boston Tea Party in December 1773 had prompted a crackdown by British authorities, who singled out Massachusetts for especially tight royal supervision.
Much had changed in the nearly nine years since Patrick Henry had delivered his widely noted “Treason” speech in May 1765 as a protest against the Stamp Act. Patrick Henry`s “Liberty or Death” Speech
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