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Patrick Henry was unable to take his seat in the legislature following the 1799 election, as he was by that time dying of stomach cancer. He died at his Red Hill plantation in the Staunton River valley on June 6, 1799.
Patrick Henry was unable to take his seat in the legislature following the 1799 election, as he was by that time dying of stomach cancer. He died at his Red Hill plantation in the Staunton River valley on June 6, 1799.
==Character==
Henry was known during and after his lifetime for being a professing Christian, so much so that even liberal historians today have never been able to paint him as a Deist or rationalist. Some of his faith was instilled in him by his uncle, Rev. Patrick Henry, Sr., the local Anglican rector; however, he did not advocate for a single denomination in particular. In 1784 he pressed for a "plural establishment" scheme that would have given official recognition and tax support to multiple Christian faiths in Virginia, but was defeated by Madison and some others, who thought it likely to make the churches an arm of the government.
Henry upheld the truth of Christianity in private and public life, once having reprinted and distributed a pamphlet by Soames Jenyns arguing for the rational nature of Christian belief. On his deathbed, having gathered his friends and family around, he commended his soul to [[Jesus Christ]] and "asked his skeptical physician to observe that the Christian faith made it easier for a man to die."<ref>Against the Barbarians, M.E. Bradford (1992)</ref>
== Quotes ==
== Quotes ==
* "Are we at last brought to such humiliating and debasing degradation, that we cannot be trusted with arms for our defense?"
* "Are we at last brought to such humiliating and debasing degradation, that we cannot be trusted with arms for our defense?"
* "We are descended from a people whose government was founded on liberty; our glorious forefathers of Great Britain made liberty the foundation of everything. That country is become a great, mighty, and splendid nation; not because their government is strong and energetic, but, sir, because liberty is its direct end and foundation. We drew the spirit of liberty from our British ancestors; by that spirit we have triumphed over every difficulty."
* "A silence or a mere look from Henry could ruin the effect of a day's worth of careful exposition." -[[James Madison]]
==See also==
==See also==