Henry, Patrick

Patrick Henry was born in a Virginia colony on the Studley family farm in Hanover County . His father was John Henry (1704–1773), who lived in Scottish Aberdeenshire and emigrated to Virginia in the 1720s. Around 1732, he settled in Hanover County and married Sarah Winston Sim (1710–1784), a widow from a well-known family of English descent ^[5] . Patrick Henry had the same name as his uncle, an American priest, and until his death in 1777 was often referred to as Patrick Henry the Younger ^[6] . Until 10 years, Patrick studied at a local school. Since there were no academies in the district, Patrick was taught by his father. It is known that in those years he was especially fond of hunting ^[7] . Over time, family lands and slaves became the property of his elder brother, John Sim Younger ^{['' i '' 1]} , and Patrick had to look for sources of income. At the age of 15, he became a clerk at a local merchant, and a year later he opened his store with his brother, but this business was not successful.

During his childhood years, a movement known as “ Rivevelism ” came to Virginia. Patrick's father was a staunch Anglican, but his mother often drove him to preach Presbyterian preachers. Patrick remained an Anglican all his life, but was influenced by Presbyterians, such as Samuel Davis, who believed that man should not only save his soul, but also help society. He also learned from them that a speaker should not only have rational arguments, but also be able to reach out to a person’s heart. The Presbyterians ultimately greatly influenced Patrick Henry’s oratory technique ^[8] .

Religion will play an important role in Patrick's entire life. His father and his uncle were deeply religious people, and both had a great influence on his life. However, he did not like the dominant role of Anglicanism in Virginia, and throughout his political life he fought for religious freedom. In a letter to the Baptists, he subsequently wrote that he sincerely desires that Christian virtue and love conquer all religious differences. He openly criticized morals in Virginia, believing that slavery and religious intolerance badly affect society.

In 1754, Henry married Sarah Shelton. It is believed that the ceremony took place on the terrace of his wife's family home, Rural Plains. As a wedding present, Sarah's father gave them 6 slaves and 300 acres (1.2 sq. Km.) Of land at Pine Slash Farm near Mechanicsville. By that time, the land was already severely depleted, and Henry, along with the slaves, was engaged in clearing the wild land for crops. However, drought soon followed, and then the house itself burned down, and Henry moved to the Hanover Tavern, an establishment owned by his wife’s father. Here he had to receive guests and entertain them by playing the violin. One of the visitors was Thomas Jefferson , who was then 17 years old. He stopped in a tavern on his way to the college of William and Mary, and then wrote that he met Patrick despite the age difference. In 1824, Jefferson told Webster that Henry was once a bartender, and this is not entirely accurate, since Henry mainly served guests and did not sell alcohol ^{[9] [10]} .

Working in a tavern, Henry took the time to study law. It is not known exactly how long he studied it, but he subsequently claimed that he had learned it in a month. On the advice of a local lawyer, in 1760 he applied for a license and passed the exam, which was taken by the most famous lawyers in Williamsburg. Patrick's legal knowledge was not deep enough, but he made a strong impression with his mindset, and as a result, in April 1760 he was given a license and he opened practice at the Hanover courts and in the surrounding districts.

Parson Case

The droughts of the 1750s led to higher tobacco prices. There were not many precious metals in the colony, so salaries were often paid out with tobacco. Before the drought, tobacco cost 2 pence per pound (0, 45 kg), and in 1755 and 1758 the Virginia House of Representatives issued the “ ,” which allows you to pay debts recorded in pounds of tobacco with money at the rate of 2 pence per lb. These payments concerned officials and, in particular, the clergy of the Church of England. Some priests asked the Chamber of Commerce in London to cancel this act, which was done. Five clergymen demanded that they return through the court to return the shortage - this case became known as the "Parson Case". Only Rev. James Mori's lawsuit was successful. On December 1, 1763, a court was convened, where Henry was invited by the legal adviser on the initiative of the parish. Patrick Henry's father was the main judge in this process.

Henry gave a speech that lasted an hour. Not addressing the issue of economic damage, he noted the unconstitutionality of the actions of the royal government, which had no right to veto acts of Virginia. He assessed the Virginia act as useful for society, and said that the king, repealing the legal act, turns from the father of the nation into a "tyrant", who lost the right to demand obedience, and called clerics the enemies of the community. Henry's opponents accused him of betrayal and raised a cry, but Henry continued his speech, and the judge did not stop him. As a result, Henry ensured that the court paid James Mori a symbolic compensation of one pence. The Parson case was the first protest against royal decisions in the colony, revealed protest sentiment and revealed dissatisfaction with the position of the Church of England. The same thing marked the beginning of Patrick Henry's political career ^{[11] [12]} .

Stamp Act

Lawyer and landowner

In 1765, Henry was elected to the lower house of the Virginia colony ( House of Burgesses ). In 1775, he spoke in the Virginia Parliament with a hot speech in defense of the rights of the people of America, the phrase from which “Give me freedom or give me death” ( give me liberty or give me death ) became classic.

In the period from 1776 to 1779 and from 1784 to 1786, he served as governor of Virginia. Henry later came out as a fierce opponent of the US constitution and an anti-federalist , believing that too much authority was transferred to the US government. In 1791 , after A. Hamilton carried out a scandalous financial reform ^{[ clarify ]} , Henry even spoke out for Virginia's exit from the United States. In 1795, he rejected the offer of US President George Washington to accept the post of Foreign Secretary.

• In honor of Patrick Henry, a county in Ohio and a district of Patrick in Virginia are named.

• John Paul Jones ( 1959 )

Comments

References to sources

• Beeman, Richard R. (July 1987). "The Democratic Faith of Patrick Henry." The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography. 95 (3): 301-316. ISSN 0042-6636.
• Campbell, Norine Dickson (1969). Patrick Henry: Patriot and Statesman. New York, NY: The Devin-Adair Company. OCLC 694997.
• Kidd, Thomas S. Patrick Henry: First Among Patriots. - New York: Basic Books, 2011 .-- ISBN 978-0-465-00928-2 .
• Kukla, Jon. Patrick Henry: Champion of Liberty. - New York: Simon & Schuster, 2017 .-- ISBN 978-1-4391-9081-4 .
• Mayer, Henry. A Son of Thunder: Patrick Henry and the American Republic. - New York: Grove Press, 1986. - ISBN 978-0-8021-3815-6 .
• McCants, David A. Patrick Henry, the Orator. - Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1990. - ISBN 978-0-313-26210-4 .
• McDonnell, Michael A. (2012). The Politics of War: Race, Class and Conflict in Revolutionary Virginia. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 978-1-4696-0107-6 .
• Meade, Robert D. Patrick Henry: Patriot in the Making. - Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott, 1957.
• Morgan, Edmund S .; Morgan, Helen M. (1995) [1953]. The Stamp Act Crisis: Prologue to Revolution. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 978-0-8078-4513-4 .
• Raphael, Ray (2004). Founding Myths: Stories that Hide Our Patriotic Past. New York, NY: The New Press. ISBN 978-1-56584-921-1 .

• Virginia Encyclopedia Article