Patrick Henry’s Speech “Give me Liberty or Give me Death”

Patrick Henry’s is most credited for his remarkable oration “Give me Liberty, or Give me Death. The speech was in, essence the resolution that addressed the prospect of slavery and freedom. This quotation came from a famous speech made on March 23, 1775 to the Virginia House of Burgesses [1]. Among those at the meeting were Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and members of the House of Burgesses. During that period, Virginia’s governors were not elected, but appointed by the Great Britain. In deep content, Henry convinced his audience to believe that war was the only solution that would make Americans attain freedom. As discussed in this paper, Henry’s speech was a call to action for his fellow Virginian to respond to various challenges that would emerge in the future. To justify his deep desire, Henry beseeched Virginians to unite and fight the Great Britain who had enslaved them for a long time.

Henry believed that it was the time for his fellow Virginians to respond and act in war to fight slavery. By then, it was considered a betrayal to speak against Great Britain in public and the crime was punishable by death or imprisonment. Thus, it took Henry great courage to give the speech and address serious issues that were affecting Virginians. The speech was so persuasive that at the end of it, the crowd was convinced that the speech was a wake-up call for the members of the House of Burgess to form a strong militia to fight the British troops. Henry created a strong ground for his listeners to comprehend that they have done everything to prevent the storm. However, Henry believed that a time had come for them to respond in war and fight hard to attain freedom. He outlined how their petitions were slighted and rejected, and there was no need for them to live in harmony. With this, Henry affirmed that Virginians had to fight hard to be free. His speech was a call for action to respond to the slavery that had affected many people. From the speech, Henry quoted that the British guard believed that Virginians were weak and unable to cope with the adversary. However, Henry convinced his listeners that it was the time for them to be stronger for the battle was not meant for the strong alone, but for the brave, active, and vigilant. Henry believed that the war was expected to fight the Britain. To persuade his audience to action, Henry stated that the British guard were in the field to fight them, and thus convinced Virginians to respond hastily to fight for liberty.

A study conducted by [2] indicates that, there was no media or internet to help men like Patrick Henry, Benjamin Franklin, Sam Adams, John Adams, Thomas Paine, and Thomas Jefferson push for American independence. Thus, Patrick Henry had to rely on the power of written and spoken word to communicate his message. The American Revolutionary War would not have occurred if Henry and the mentioned individuals were not gifted at persuasive writing and speaking.

Henry used the concept of persuasion to win his people that they should stand and fight for liberty. He convinced them that the England had transformed the Virginians into slaves. The author utilized different appeals, pathos, ethos, and logos to give the speech a quality and concrete message. For instance, he used logos to convince the people of Virginia that fighting was the only possible solution to end slavery. He utilized this to persuade his fellow Virginians to respond with action. He used logical facts in the third and fourth paragraph of his speech whereby he stated that “Are fleets and armies necessary to work in love and reconciliation”[3]. The arrangement of this writing indicated that it was not the time for Americans to promote peace and hope, but to fight England. To justify his desire for a call to action, Henry used ethos “Love and reconciliation”. He persuaded his fellow Virginians that while they were busy promoting love and reconciliation, England was busy sending armies and fleets to fight them. The main context of the speech was that, it was the time to act since the war had already begun. Additionally, the author logos appeals are shown when the speech outlined that Americans had chosen peace. The aim of this quote was to remind Americans that it was not the right time to promote peace, but to respond with action to fight slavery. Henry used powerful words to convince Americans that they were to respond into action to end slavery. The logos appeal acted as the guiding force to convince his fellow Virginians to act and be strong for God was with them. In his speech, the author revealed that it was wrong to rely on peace and hope, but it was ethical to fight hard to attain freedom. He used convincing quotes “Give me Liberty, or Give me death” to convince his audience that fighting for liberty was the only thing that would save the people of Virginians. The author’s speech was based on the fact that, England were ready to fight the Virginians and so the author saw an urging need for his people to respond into action.

Conclusively, Henry addressed the concerns of those who did not agree with him in various ways. First, he used powerful messages in his speech “Give me Liberty or Give me Death”. At this point, Henry persuaded those who did not believe in him that failure to respond to the war would mean death. His title emphasized that Virginians were to fight for liberty or death. Typically, his title was strong that it convinced many to act in action to fight for freedom. Secondly, the author affirmed that while the Americans were busy promoting peace and hope, England was busy preparing for the battle. Henry used this argumentative writing to convince those who did not believe in him that there was a need to respond urgently to fight England. Henry did a god job of convincing the house of Burgesses that the war demanded them to fight. The most important thing that Henry did when giving out his speech was complimenting his opponents for the job well-done in preparing for the war. The purpose of this writing was to gain trust and respect to his opponents. Further, Henry asked in advance for forgiveness for he knew that his speech would offend many people. The author goes on to make reference to God and America to convince his opponents that God was fighting on their behalf.

Henry’s speech is a potent illustration of a speech that is well-documented to communicate the intended message. To date, Henry is remembered for his courage to present a speech that encouraged the people of Virginians to respond into action. Henry encouraged his fellow Virginians to army themselves for the battle was meant for the brave. The author addressed the concerns of those who did not agree with him that God was fighting on their behalf. Further, he apologized in advance for he was persuaded that his opponents would disagree with him.

Bibliography

Harper, Rose Marie. Legacy: give me liberty or give me death. Columbus, Ga: Brentwood Christian Press, 2005.

Henry, Patrick, and Peter Jahns. Give me liberty, or give me death. Sarasota, FL: CoolBeat Audiobooks, 2005.

Parra, Angelo, and Patrick Henry. Patrick Henry’s Give me liberty or give me death: : a play adaptation. Pelham, NY: Benchmark Education Co, 2007.

[1] Henry, Patrick, and Peter Jahns. Give me liberty, or give me death. Sarasota, FL: CoolBeat Audiobooks, 2005.

[2] Parra, Angelo, and Patrick Henry. Patrick Henry’s Give me liberty or give me death: : a play adaptation. Pelham, NY: Benchmark Education Co, 2007.

[3] Harper, Rose Marie. Legacy: give me liberty or give me death. Columbus, Ga: Brentwood Christian Press, 2005.