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Added to "Patrick Henry"
Despite his youth and the fact that he had only just become a member of the legislature, Henry took the lead in presenting the Resolves to the House and calling for their adoption. On May 30, 1765, only nine days after being sworn in as a legislator, Henry made a dramatic speech in advocating for the Resolves. At the end of this speech, referencing past "tyrants" who had been assassinated by defenders of liberty, Henry proclaimed, "[[Julius Caesar|Caesar had his Brutus; Charles the First his Cromwell; and [[George III|George the Third]] may profit by their example." He could not doubt, he added, that "some American jealous of the liberties of his country would, in due course, appear." To many listeners, this sounded like an indirect call for assassination of the king, and some in the House shouted, "Treason!" to which Henry reportedly responded, "If this be treason, then make the most of it." It seems unlikely, though, that Henry was at this stage even advocating independence, much less an armed struggle or overthrow of the king. He affirmed his loyalty to the king, even saying he was ready to shed his last drop of blood for George III, but stressed that the monarch was similarly bound to adhere to the ancient constitutions of the realm and recognize the traditional privileges and liberties the colonists possessed as "free-born Englishmen."
Despite his youth and the fact that he had only just become a member of the legislature, Henry took the lead in presenting the Resolves to the House and calling for their adoption. On May 30, 1765, only nine days after being sworn in as a legislator, Henry made a dramatic speech in advocating for the Resolves. At the end of this speech, referencing past "tyrants" who had been assassinated by defenders of liberty, Henry proclaimed, "[[Julius Caesar|Caesar had his Brutus; Charles the First his Cromwell; and [[George III|George the Third]] may profit by their example." He could not doubt, he added, that "some American jealous of the liberties of his country would, in due course, appear." To many listeners, this sounded like an indirect call for assassination of the king, and some in the House shouted, "Treason!" to which Henry reportedly responded, "If this be treason, then make the most of it." It seems unlikely, though, that Henry was at this stage even advocating independence, much less an armed struggle or overthrow of the king. He affirmed his loyalty to the king, even saying he was ready to shed his last drop of blood for George III, but stressed that the monarch was similarly bound to adhere to the ancient constitutions of the realm and recognize the traditional privileges and liberties the colonists possessed as "free-born Englishmen."
The repeal of the Stamp Act in 1766 was a vindication of the firm stance of Henry and other Whigs, and allowed them to solidify their political position in Virginia. The new Speaker of the House of Burgesses, Peyton Randolph, was sympathetic to their views, and permitted them to take the lead in much of the legislature's business in the late 1760s. In response to the [[Townshend Acts]], a series of new taxes on various imports, Henry and his allies organized the Association of 1769, a boycott of such British merchandise as tea, lead, paper, and other goods affected by the duties.
During the cooling-off period in the early 1770s, following the repeal of the Townshend Acts, Henry scaled back some of his public political activity, being preoccupied with his legal profession and increasing his estates; he bought the 1,000-acre Scotchtown Plantation in Hanover County, not far from his place of birth, and also speculated in western lands. He was also concerned over the state of his wife, Sarah, whose health was declining during these years. Nonetheless, he remained an active figure in the House of Burgesses, supporting a bill to guarantee a wide degree of religious liberty in the colony.
==Revolutionary==
Though Henry had already been active in the efforts to extend the [[Committees of Correspondence]] to Virginia in 1772 and 1773, a step which laid the groundwork for future revolutionary activity, it was only following the [[Intolerable Acts]] in response to the [[Boston Tea Party]] that he again drew notice as a prominent opponent of British policy. After the House of Burgesses expressed solidarity with [[Massachusetts]], the main target of the Acts, the royal governor, Lord Dunmore, dissolved the legislature. Henry then led the assembly members across the street to Raleigh Tavern, where, at his urging, they revived the Association, now aiming to embargo all imports from Britain, and called for all the colonies to send representatives to a general congress. This would become the [[First Continental Congress]], to which Henry was selected as one of the Virginia delegates in August 1774, receiving more votes than anyone except House Speaker Randolph.
== Quotes ==
== Quotes ==