Patrick Henry
Governor of Virginia (1776-1779) and (1784-1786)
A Founding Father Of The Untied States
A Founding Father Of The Untied States
On ‘God, Tyrants and Enslavement’
Biography
Patrick Henry (May 29, 1736 – June 6, 1799) was an attorney, planter and politician who became known as an orator during the movement for independence in Virginia in the 1770s. A Founding Father, he served as the first and sixth post-colonial Governor of Virginia, from 1776 to 1779 and from 1784 to 1786. Henry led the opposition to the Stamp Act of 1765 and is remembered for his "Give me Liberty, or give me Death!" speech. Along with Samuel Adams and Thomas Paine, he is regarded as one of the most influential champions of Republicanism and an invested promoter of the American Revolution and its fight for independence. » Full Bio» See All 'Quotable Quotes'
This Day In History 238 Years Ago
American War for Independence - September 1, 1775
American War for Independence - September 1, 1775
King George Refuses Olive Branch Petition
Richard Penn and Arthur Lee, representing the Continental Congress, present the so-called Olive Branch Petition to the Earl of Dartmouth on this day in 1775. Britain's King George III, however, refused to receive the petition, which, written by John Dickinson, appealed directly to the king and expressed hope for reconciliation between the colonies and Great Britain.
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Americans had hoped that Parliament had curtailed colonial rights without the king's full knowledge, and that the petition would cause him to come to his subjects' defense. When George III refused to read the petition, many Americans realized that Parliament was acting with royal knowledge and support. Americans' patriotic rage was further intensified by the January 1776 publication by English-born radical Thomas Paine of Common Sense, an influential pamphlet that attacked the monarchy, which Paine claimed had allowed "crowned ruffians" to "impoverish the nation and set it together by the ears." » Full Article
Significant Events This Day In History
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