Shifting factions, rather than clearly defined parties, were characteristic of the Virginia legislature in the s. Henry and his allies in the legislature passed only the occasional statute, often to provide relief to debtors, but they were generally successful in defeating or amending bills introduced by Madison and his allies.
Late in that same year, Henry declined reelection to the governorship, citing reasons of health and the need to look after his private affairs. A movement to strengthen the central government of the new nation was gaining force, which culminating in the Philadelphia convention of Henry remained committed to augmenting the resources of the Confederation government but suspicious of those who sought to replace it with a stronger central government. Henry declined the honor, citing a lack of funds.
He was, however, clearly suspicious that the supporters of a stronger national government included many New Englanders who had favored a treaty with Spain in that, had it been ratified, would have sacrificed southern interests in the free use of the Mississippi River in favor of commercial advantages for northern merchants.
The Concern I feel on this account is really greater than I am able to express. Henry ran as a delegate to the state ratification convention from Prince Edward County, where he then resided. When the convention met in Richmond on June 2, , its members were closely divided. This concession was enough to win over a small but critical group of moderate Anti-Federalists.
Virginia ratified the Constitution by a vote of 89 to Once the new government went into operation, many Virginians who had supported the ratification suddenly found themselves opposed to the economic policies advanced by Alexander Hamilton. In declining health, Henry retired from the legislature at the end of and devoted himself to a busy law practice, winning cases in some of his most successful courtroom appearances.
By the middle of the decade, however, his political allegiance took a surprising turn, shaped in part by the bloody excesses of the French Revolution, which Henry attributed to the deism of its leaders.
Henry proved receptive to overtures from Virginia Federalists such as Washington, Henry Lee, and John Marshall who shared his increasing dissatisfaction with the Democratic-Republican opposition led by Jefferson and Madison. Henry declined appointments as secretary of state, attorney general, justice of the Supreme Court, and minister to Spain and France, but he reentered politics in in response to controversies over the repressive measures that Federalists in Congress had enacted against their Democratic-Republican rivals.
Disunion, he feared, would undo the revolution and lead to anarchy or tyranny. In the spring of , Henry supported John Marshall, a moderate Federalist who had not voted for the Alien and Sedition Acts, for reelection to Congress. At the same time, in response to a direct request from his old friend George Washington, Henry ran again for a seat in the state legislature. He won easily after delivering his last public speech at Charlotte Court House, but he died at Red Hill on June 6, , before the legislature convened.
By his oratorical prowess and his unfailing empathy with his constituents and their interests, Henry made the Revolution a more widely popular movement than it might otherwise have become.
He explained the revolution to ordinary men and women in words they understood. As an eloquent spokesman for American liberty, Henry also expressed a distrust of centralized political authority that remains a persistent theme in American political culture.
Near his last will, Patrick Henry left a small envelope sealed with wax. Inside was a single sheet of paper on which he had copied his Resolutions against the Stamp Act. On the back, Patrick Henry left a message that he knew could only be read after his death. He borrowed some law books, taught himself and boldly applied for a law license that was granted by the skin of his teeth.
He defied the tyranny of the king in the Parsons Cause, earning the love and respect of the people he had championed. From there he was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses and soon thereafter became the Voice of the Revolution.
Patrick Henry passionately served his country, not himself. After our nation was firmly established, he declined numerous national offices in order to meet his obligations back home.
With seventeen children and seventy-seven grand-children, he was a founding father indeed! Rather than pursue personal glory, he instead went back to practicing law to take care of his family. So why should kids listen to the echoing voice of Patrick Henry? Because our country needs to hear from a new generation of voices who will choose to also speak with lives of such selfless greatness and integrity.
He observed everything around him and earnestly listened to people. Loyalist businessman James Parker did write a brief account of the speech in April , where he said Henry insulted King George. The convention passed the resolution offered by Henry to form militias to defend Virginia, and in the following month, fighting broke out at Lexington and Concord between British troops and the colonists, marking the official start of the Revolutionary War.
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