Loud and proud, he proclaimed to all the delegates there, “Give Me Liberty, or Give Me Death.” These words would live on longer than perhaps Henry himself thought they would. His speech was well-received, though it was how he ended the speech that remains in our minds to this date. This being the time before Lexington and Concord on April 19, all Colonies were in debate of raising non-kingdom sanctioned militias. Henry gave a great speech, that is all but forgotten. Though militias already existed in Virginia, and all of the 13 Colonies, the debate was to have an officially recognized one, one that would not tow the line of the King, but of the Colonists. The topic of the day was whether or not the Colony should form a militia in response to growing threats of division from the mother country. It was just 247 years ago today, March 23, 1775, that the delegate to the Virginia Convention, Patrick Henry, gave perhaps one of his most momentous speeches at a time when Colonists were thinking more than just words, but action! Patrick Henry, one of our renowned Founding Fathers, was surrounded by both anxious Patriots denouncing the King, and Loyalists who were trying to keep the Empire intact.
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