Celebrating Patrick Henry: 250 Years of Liberty and Responsibility

March 23, 2025 will be the 250th anniversary of Patrick Henry's famous speech given at St. John's Church in Richmond wherein he declared, "Give me liberty or Give me death"!  This speech was just weeks before the first cannons of war would be shot at Lexington and Concord beginning the Revolutionary War. To celebrate this key moment in U.S. history, there will be a reenactment at St. John's Church. A descendant of Henry's, Henry Jolly, will portray the Founding Father. Jolly has been portraying his ancestor since the 1990s. He believes that most students only know Patrick Henry for the speech and little else. He's made it his mission to educate students about Henry's other contributions to the nation's history. Moreover, Ken Burns, known for his documentaries of historical periods and biographies, added that many Americans don't know much about the speech other than those few words.

"According to Jolly, the delivery of those fiery words 'Give me liberty or give me death' was 'part of a longer defense of resolutions he had submitted, which put Virginia officially into a posture of defense against Great Britain.' During his speech, which as Jolly presents it today is 14 minutes long, 'He had to convince the leaders of the day that Virginia could defend itself against the British army, which was one of the most powerful military forces in the world. His words helped convince his peers they could be successful against, ‘so formidable an adversary.’”   (https://cardinalnews.org/2025/03/18/patrick-henrys-words-have-echoed-through-the-centuries-and-around-the-world/)

Henry's words were a plea for the Virginia government to prepare for war. He was, most likely an anti-federalist, but he was not anti-government. This is in opposition to how we often hear his words used today. So often we hear these words used as a protest against government intervention into our personal lives, which is not how Henry used them. John A. Ragosta, an early American historian and author of Patrick Henry: Proclaiming A Revolution, “He meant exactly the opposite,” Ragosta said. “His speech was about the people coming together. It was not about me, it was about us.” (www.cardinalnews.com above) Henry's words were even shouted at the the 1989 protests in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, as well as being painted on banners.

What people don't understand about Henry as well as other Founding Fathers is that he was a communitarian, meaning he believed in the community of people and preserving the rights of the people, not individuals. Today with the spread of technology, people have become more and more singularly focused. We are far more focused on our rights, our identities, our circumstances, and less interested in the community, the state, or the interests of the nation as a whole. We have become more interested in what others can do for us than what our role is in our communities.

Jon Kukla, author of the biography Patrick Henry: Champion of Liberty and an historian who has been researching Patrick Henry for half a century, added that Henry's words were about a person's responsibilities to the community, not just their rights...“'the first thing a person had to do in order to enjoy freedoms was to practice self-discipline.' That meant to be less selfish and less focused on one’s own desires in the moment, and more in tune with the qualities of good citizenship:  charity, forbearance, frugality, justice, love, moderation, temperance and virtue."(https://cardinalnews.org/2025/03/18/patrick-henrys-words-have-echoed-through-the-centuries-and-around-the-world/)

In my mind this has never been more important as we move deeper into the 21st century. The United States throughout the 20th century sacrificed ourselves so often for the betterment of other nations to our own detriment. We have increasing numbers of homeless, hungry, increasing illiteracy, decreasing quality of education and healthcare to mention a few. Putting ourselves first before others more often than not gets push back. The "Make America Great Again" movement meets with anger and resentment. Is that only because it is lead by Donald Trump, or is it a legitimate concern to those who push back? Why shouldn't Americans come first? Why shouldn't be house ourselves first? Feed ourselves first? Educate ourselves the best? My question is...do you not believe that in France they want to be the best? Of course they do. Do they not want to put France first? Of course they do. In Germany, do they not want to put Germans first? Of course they do. Don't they want to house Germans in Germany first? Of course they do. Do they want Germans to speak German? Of course they do. Then, why on earth do we force shame on ourselves for wanting to put America first? To believe that nationalism is immoral is ludicrous. Nationalism that rises to the level of genocide is immoral. That is not what we are talking about.

We can learn from Patrick Henry's words 250 years after he spoke them. He was not calling for no government. He was calling for people to get involved, to step up to the plate. We can no longer afford to be apathetic. With freedom comes responsibility. Our responsibility is to be knowledgeable of the issues and to vote. Not doing these things...well, you might as well be dead.

Thank you Patrick Henry!