Lion of Liberty: Patrick Henry and the Call to a New Nation

by Harlow Giles Unger

Known to generations of Americans for his stirring call to arms, "Give me liberty or give me death," Patrick Henry is all but forgotten today as the first of the Founding Fathers to call for independence, the first to call for revolution, and the first to call for a bill of rights. If Washington was the "Sword of the Revolution" and Jefferson, "the Pen," Patrick Henry more than earned his epithet as "the Trumpet" of the Revolution for rousing Americans to arms in the Revolutionary War. Henry was one of the towering figures of the nation's formative years and perhaps the greatest orator in American history. To this day, many Americans misunderstand what Patrick Henry's cry for "liberty or death" meant to him and to his tens of thousands of devoted followers in Virginia. A prototype of the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century American frontiersman, Henry claimed individual liberties as a "natural right" to live free of "the tyranny of rulers"--American as well as British. Henry believed that individual rights were more secure in small republics than in large republics, which many of the other Founding Fathers hoped to create after the Revolution. Henry was one of the most important and colorful of our Founding Fathers--a driving force behind three of the most important events in American the War of Independence, the enactment of the Bill of Rights, and, tragically, as America's first important proponent of state's rights, the Civil War. This biography is history at its best, telling a story both human and philosophical. As Unger points out, Henry's words continue to echo across America and inspire millions to fight government intrusion in their daily lives.

Genres: Biography, History, American History, Nonfiction, American Revolution, Biography Memoir, American Revolutionary War

1 pages, MP3 CD

First published October 7, 2010

About the author

Harlow Giles Unger is an American author, historian, journalist, broadcaster, and educator known for his extensive work on American history and education. Educated at the Taft School, Yale College, and California State University, Unger began his career as a journalist for the New York Herald Tribune Overseas News Service in Paris. He later wrote for newspapers and magazines across Britain, Canada, and other countries, while also working in radio broadcasting and teaching English and journalism at New York-area colleges.
Unger has written over twenty-seven books, including ten biographies of America's Founding Fathers and a notable biography of Henry Clay. His historical works include Noah Webster: The Life and Times of an American Patriot, The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation’s Call to Greatness, and First Founding Father: Richard Henry Lee and the Call to Independence. He is also the author of the Encyclopedia of American Education, a three-volume reference work.
A former Distinguished Visiting Fellow in American History at Mount Vernon, Unger has lived in Paris and currently resides in New York City. An avid skier and horseman, he has spent time in Chamonix, France, and Jackson Hole, Wyoming. He has one son, Richard C. Unger.

Reviews

[Alan Tomkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading Patrick Henry's speeches on natural rights, revolution, government, and liberty is both edifying and inspiring. Harlow Giles Unger delivers another very good biography in which the motivations and viewpoints of the various founding fathers are explored and explained with thoroughness and fairness. I very much enjoyed this book. To me, Henry's life and accomplishments, as related in these pages, were fascinating and made for entertaining reading. He is a founding father whom I can deeply respect and admire while frequently disagreeing with his conclusions. Unger is a master of narrative history, and he scores again with this one. I definitely recommend it.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

In reading this book I have learn a great deal of information about the life and work of Patrick Henry. Henry was mentioned in every biography I have read of the time frame, from George Washington to James Madison, Henry was discussed in the book but only in passing. Historians have paid the most attention to the founding fathers that attained the presidency. At the bottom of the bag, nowadays are those founders who were important for a brief period on the national level but whose working career was at the local level. Henry was the first governor of Virginia. People like Samuel Adams and Patrick Henry did not get much attention.

Harlow Giles Unger, a historian and former visiting fellow at Mount Vernon, has written a delightful biography that tries to rectify the prior lack of attention paid to Patrick Henry. The author provides an insightful glimpse into the life and work of one of the most important men who helped bring about the creation of the American republic.

Unger provides an overview of the life of Henry. The book is not a comprehensive biography. The author delves into the key events in Henry’s life explaining how the episodes discussed helped to shape Henry’s work and approach to politics. The book covers Henry’s earliest days as a backwoods lawyer. Unger covers Henry’s friendships and family life (he fathered 18 children) as well as his relationship with George Washington.

What I found most interesting was the discussion of some of Henry’s cases as a lawyer. For example, Henry argues in defense of a group of famers who had refused to pay the Church tax to support the established Anglican Church of Virginia colony. Henry’s opposition to what he saw as both a violation of religious liberty and the freedom of the people to be secure against oppressive taxation by distant imperial and colonial governments.

Unger’s book is a fascinating study of one of the most colorful and important public men of the founding era. If you are interested in the formation of this country this is a book to read. I read this as an audio book downloaded from Audible. William Hughes narrated the book.

[Sarah TheAromaofBooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read, but I overall felt more like I was reading a condensed history of the American Revolution/founding of Constitution, with a side focus on Henry rather than the other way around.  There is only one brief chapter on the first 24 years of Henry's life, and throughout the rest of the book we are only given pieces of Henry's personal life in very brief (and sometimes weirdly snide) asides.  Rather than making Henry more personable and accessible, Unger gives us a picture of a man's accomplishments rather than the man himself.

In a weird way, I realized about halfway through the book that it just didn't feel like Unger really liked Henry.  I felt rather like he was rolling his eyes at many of Henry's dramatic speeches, and some of his comments about Henry's personal life came across as downright uncomfortable.  E.g. - "...from then on, whenever Henry returned home he made certain that if his wife was not already pregnant from his last visit, she most certainly would be by the time he left."   ???

Still, there was enough of Henry in this book to remind me why he was one of my childhood favorites.  His passion not just for freedom from Britain, but from big government in general, his love for everyday people and preserving their independence, his emphasis on the critical importance of strengthening small, localized governments - these are all themes that still resonate with me today.  I especially loved Henry's passion for the Bill of Rights, and his strong stance against the Constitution without them.  Even more interesting is to see how so much of what Henry predicted has happened - in events that lead to the Civil War, and again today, with an ever-closing noose of interference and heavy taxation from a centralized government ever-distanced from the people it claims to serve.

For Lion, 3/5.  A decent read for the political overview of Henry, but I would still like to get a hold of a biography that focuses more on him as a person and less on him as a founding father, and preferably without the snide remarks about how much Henry liked his wife. 

[Dee Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audible.com 9 hours 28 min. Narrated by William Hughes (B)

George Washington is called "the father of our country" because of his great influence as General during the Revolutionary War and his service as the first President of the United States. Unfortunately he and his devoted wife Martha had no children of their own. On the other hand, Patrick Henry sired 18 chilfren with 70 grandchildren. He ought to get at least
an honorable mention.
It's been too many years since I've heard his most famous speech which included the passionate line "Give me liberty or give me death!" Henry's truly worthy of the title "firebrand of the Revolution. "

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent biography. Maybe better than four stars, though not quite five.

Unger shows us Henry "warts and all" but sticks to sources close to Henry's time and person. It would be easy to slip into hagiography with a person of Henry's stature, but Unger shares enough of Henry's errors and shortcomings that we recognize the humanity in him.

Unger performs the additional service of taking the reader into the mind of eighteenth century America because it was a very different place than today.

Very well done.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read Harlow Giles Younger's biography of John Quincy Adams, a few more of his biographies came as a free bonus in my Audible account, so I decided to listen to some non-presidential biographies.

Patrick Henry is known as the firebrand who said "Give me liberty or give me death." He never became President, but he did serve as Governor of Virginia (three times before independence, and again afterwards), and was a powerful figure before and after the American Revolution.

Also, the dude has eighteen children (of whom all but two survived) and 77 grandchildren! He's estimated to have over 100,000 descendants.

Like so many of the Founding Fathers, Patrick Henry got his start as a lawyer, where his gift of oratory was evident early in his career, as was his willingness to rebel against the King. In a case in which his father was the presiding judge, Patrick Henry represented a group of tobacco farmers whose debts to the Anglican Church had been reduced by a bill passed by the Virginia House of Burgesses, but which the Church, not happy about having its payments reduced, petitioned London to overturn. Britain did so, and Henry proceeded to rail in court against the king and the church, calling them tyrants and enemies of the people, in so many words. Despite opposing counsel accusing him of treason, Henry's oratory worked: the jury came back and awarded the plaintiff damages of 1 farthing. This would not be the first time that Patrick Henry would convince a jury to effectively ignore the law and the facts of the case in favor of an emotional response.

It was the Stamp Act that really got Henry rolling. To cries of "Treason!" when he seemed to be calling for King George's head, he said, "If this be treason, make the most of it!"

And it was on. If Patrick Henry were alive today, he would probably be a Trump-like figure, shitposting on Twitter and calling his opponents enemies of the people.

A lot of the most prominent Founding Fathers were Virginians, including four of the first five presidents. Patrick Henry was a peer of Washington, Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe, mostly a friend of Washington, an opponent of Madison, and a sometimes ally, sometimes adversary of Jefferson and Monroe.

Like many of those men, Henry managed to simultaneously oppose slavery and own slaves. He frequently wrote about how his moral and religious beliefs convinced him that slavery was a moral wrong, and the cognitive dissonance tore at him. He never purchased slaves directly, but slaves often came attached to farms he purchased. He regarded abolition as even crueler than slavery, since the only alternative he could conceive of was throwing freed slaves out onto the streets to fend for themselves.

In his early lawyerly days, he defended Baptists (then an underclass denomination that appealed to the poor) against the Anglican Church, and defended a separation between Church and State. This would not prevent him later in his career from trying to make Christianity the state religion, only to be opposed by Jefferson and Madison.

During the revolution, when Virginia was vulnerable to British invasion, Virginians were quite unimpressed by Jefferson's leadership. When Patrick Henry took charge, he basically became a dictator, asking the Virginia legislature to give him powers he had always condemned if wielded by any other tyrant. Unger spends a lot of time defending Henry here against the obvious charge of hypocrisy, pointing out that almost every politician reversed course sometimes when the facts on the ground changed. And he's not wrong, but it was rather amusing, in a biography about one of the most firebreathing pro-freedom Founding Fathers, to read about how democracy doesn't work in an emergency and Patrick Henry was totally justified in effectively declaring martial law.

His first wife, Sarah, had six, before she went mad. Sarah Henry apparently suffered from severe mental illness and depression which only got worse as she got older, until Patrick Henry's friends were recommending she be sent to an insane asylum. Since insane asylums at that time were horrific hellholes, Henry, to his credit, hid her in his attic instead.

Well, okay, not quite. But Sarah Henry did spend the last few years of her life quietly tucked away in their mansion and probably be cared for by slaves.

Henry would marry a second wife, Dolly, who gave him twelve more children. As Unger puts it, Dolly and the kids had to run and hide from the British early in the war, but once General Cornwallis was driven out of Virginia, they returned -

And from then on, whenever Henry returned home, he made certain that if his wife was not already pregnant from his last visit, she most certainly would be by the time he left.

Patrick Henry and his wife really, really loved children, and they appeared to have a happy marriage. He was known to be a passionate fiddler and played for and with his children often. He was regarded as a man of strict morals and there were no stories that he ever practiced infidelity.

After the war, Thomas Jefferson was still pissed at Patrick Henry for opening an inquiry into his disgraceful retreat from the capital while he was governor (Jefferson was really a pretty shit wartime governor) even though Henry insisted it wasn't personal. Henry was also rabble-rousing, so Jefferson and Madison and the rest of the Virginia legislature decided to make him Governor again, where he'd be powerless.

This seems to be a thing that happened quite a lot in American history: take a willful, rhetorically gifted politician you want to defang and give him a political office where you think he can't do any damage. Watch him start doing damage.

Henry was enormously popular, and started issuing executive orders right and left that flat out ignored the Constitutional restrictions on his power. Not all of his schemes worked (he tried to subsidize mixed marriages with Indians in an effort to integrate them with white society), but he did block land surveys and do his best to prevent more encroachments on Indian land. He also suspended capital punishment in Richmond.

He would later oppose ratification of the Constitution during the Constitutional Convention, as he was an original proponent of strong states right against a powerful federal government. (Ironically, since later his foes would be the "anti-Federalists" including Jefferson and Madison.) While he lost that fight, many of his objections were eventually incorporated into the Bill of Rights. He convinced James Monroe to run for Congress against his friend (and Henry's foe) James Madison. Monroe agreed, resulting in a tepid campaign in which Madison won anyway. He almost challenged the governor who succeeded him, Edmund Randolph, to a duel over another political argument.

After retiring from public office, Henry resumed his career as a lawyer, where he continued to use emotionally manipulative rhetoric. At one point, he convinced a jury to acquit a murderer by getting them to cry over how much it would grieve the defendants' parents to see him put to death. The judge made the jury revise their verdict after pointing out to them that they didn't have to put the defendant to death. Despite developing a somewhat disreputable reputation as a lawyer who'd get anyone off for a fee, Henry became wealthy and one of the greatest landholders in Virginia.

I found this book, and Patrick Henry's life, quite interesting. He was, like many of the Founding Fathers, gifted and full of passion and convictions, and also flawed and capable of ignoring his principles when they were inconvenient. I'd rank him as a better man by far than Jefferson, and probably more sincere than anyone save perhaps Madison, who was less passionate but far more brilliant.

[Gerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are many facets to Patrick Henry, Son, Brother, Husband, Father, Patriot, Anti-Federalist, Friend to George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Richard Henry Lee among many others. A lawyer by passing the “test” without training, his gift of the oratory was second to none for his time. The author correctly penned that if “…George Washington was the spear of the American Revolution, and Thomas Jefferson it’s pen – then Patrick Henry was the trumpet that sounded the alert…” He was noted as being as quick with his gun as he was with his tongue. The author of this book encapsulates the whole of the man, the Patriot, the champion of civil liberties, a man that wanted slavery abolished but had to work at it from the point of time toward ceasing the importation of human beings – he was neither a saint nor a villain. Lord Byron would call him the “forest born Demosthenes” and John Adams who did hear Henry speak called him America’s “Demosthenes of the age.” He sought to unite American States in a working confederation similar to Switzerland whose confederation, he said, had “stood upwards for four hundred years” – having states govern themselves through an alliance was his aim and having a large government remaining out of the lives of its citizens. In this, the seeds of the American Civil War were sown for battle to be fought some 90+/- years later. He was the anti-federalist that very likely would have been the nation’s second President had his health been better. In his post-Revolutionary War life, his best case was the landmark British Debts Case of 1791. Ironically, his good friend John Marshall would be the first Supreme Court Justice – a position that he (Patrick Henry) himself declined among many others such as the nation’s first Secretary of State. As an elected Governor of Virginia in 1785 he threatened secession over the Mississippi River navigation rights; yet he rejected a stronger confederation and supported farmer tax revolts and despised the manner to which President Washington sent troops to quell Shay’s Rebellion. His friendship with the nation’s first President was stronger than any political opinion he held, largely self-taught and lifelong student of French Philosopher Montesquieu he also believed the “governors should live among the governed” rather than the big government created by the Constitution where the “public good is sacrificed to a thousand views.”

Some other interesting personal points of Patrick Henry – he fathered no less than 18 children with two wives (his first wife died in 1775) his second wife was a cousin to Martha Washington in which he had 11 children with her. He loved children, enjoyed his grand-children and in this his family was the most important part of his existence and the reasons he worked as hard as he did, traveled as far as he would, and all the while attempting to protect civil liberties in the best manner as he believed was true to the cause of the natural laws of God. His ancestral voices were heard in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords in Parliament – his uncle was the Reverend Patrick Henry and was known for his sermons that would draw people from miles around to hear him preach.

The book itself – the maps provided within were relevant and detailed, the photo of the bust of Patrick Henry created in 1788 is said (then) to have been his “exact” likeness. In Colonial Williamsburg of Virginia, the reenactor that portrays him is very similar in look to the bust and the British Colonial Capitol today goes to great length to ensure that any reenactor they hire (current one is I believe is on long term contract) is as similar in look to the bust as possible. The sketch of the British Debts Case of Patrick Henry in 1791 is included in this book and almost is surreal in how it brings that case to life. Regardless of what some Anti-Federalists today may think – John Adams and Patrick Henry were friends and held this friendship from the time of the First Continental Congress; this friendship was not as close as that of Thomas Jefferson and Adams and even that friendship had its fraction with the election of 1800. Still, it existed and cannot be denied. It was after all the pamphlet by John Adams on “Thoughts On Government” that would become the basis of the Virginia constitution. Virginia’s contribution in manpower, supplies, and Patrick Henry’s discovery of why the Revolutionary Forces in Valley Forge and he notified General Washington of an attempt to ouster him during this same time. The author Harlow Giles Unger researched well and wrote critically of the life of Patrick Henry – any person interested in this period of America’s War for Independence should read this book. This book deserves more than five stars.

[Craig Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

“LION OF LIBERTY” Patrick Henry and the Call to a New Nation
Harlow Giles Unger
Da Capo Press-2010
321 pages

In this magnificent book Harlow Unger paints a portrait of Patrick Henry that will inspire, recharge and get us excited; if not passionate; about what freedom is and why we as Americans strive, desire and covet that ideal.

Harlow Unger, I have to admit is one of my favorite authors. He combines true story telling mixed with sound academic research and writing that leaves nothing out. Each chapter referenced is Healy laden with reference notes (18 pages), which include writings from Henry himself to letters of others, firsthand account documents, Court records, Church records and more. This serves in giving you, not only personal insight on his views, but a complete portrait of how others viewed him at the time.

The opening leaves you in suspense as the young Henry makes his first appearance in a courtroom, seemingly not sure what to do. The Judge was on the verge of throwing out the case and awarding the other party the victory. We find out later that Henry, a master of the courtroom stage was more than ready to argue almost any point. We see his love of family, love of country and love of law shine through.

In this work we see how Patrick Henry developed his skills in the backwoods. We see who his first audience (the animals) was and how he crafted his art and performance. As the book progresses we see his genius from soon to be peers to taking on challenges of the mother country in respects to the legal standings. These accounts you will just have to read for yourself, and I will say it is well worth the read.

This book sounds the cry of freedom and political statement s that are as relevant today as they were then. “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” may be Henry’s legacy to our Nation, but what you will find is that he left so much more. This Masterpiece and Portrait of Patrick Henry is something every American should read, regardless of your viewpoints; left or right. To continue on as a nation we have to have an understanding of who we are and the other viewpoints of the opposition, then we can grow. As much as Van Buran brought us party politics, Henry brought us the will and the determination to speak out, stand up and demand to be heard.

Reviewed by
Craig Anderson
Our History Project, Inc.

[Julie Yates · Rating 2 out of 5]

This seems like an overview of the American Revolution as compared to a biography about Henry. Entire chapters are devoted to action in Massachusetts and New York without Henry even being mentioned. And while we get many facts about his life (number of slaves, land owned) his important contributions to the Revolution are skimpy. His time as VA Governor takes about 2 pages. Henry's arguments against the Virginia Ratification of the Constitution are not explored - supposedly he wrote many letters but none are quoted! It doesn't discuss how his history has been tainted by T. Jefferson, with whom he had great enmity (or why that enmity exists, beside that Jefferson was a Tidewater planter and Henry was originally poor.) It doesn't even mention how, due to a friendship with George Washington, he spent the end of his life DEFENDING the constitution! As I finished the book I felt I knew a lot of facts about Henry - his wives & kids, his plantations & slaves, his illnesses - but I didn't understand anything about what made him who he was.

[Scott Thrift · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad book at all, except it glosses over big parts of Henry's life. Possibly the information is no longer available? There are long sections of the book that don't even mention Henry, such as the Constitutional convention. His anti-Federalist opinions didn't come into play until after it was drafted, and he wasn't in Philly at the time, so we read about what happened while he wasn't there.

And I think Henry not only started the cry for liberty from England but sowed the seeds of the cry for liberty in the South from the North which eventually caused secession. Unger doesn't much go into it.

It is a good primer for the Revolutionary War, discussing the events that set off revolution.

[Steven Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quite readable biography of Patrick Henry, the famed orator and Revolutionary era leader. The book follows Henry from his youth to his peak of political power. He served as governor of Virginia several times, was a fiery voice for freedom, and was a doubter of the Consitution and strong national government.

A well done biography. There were times, such as at the conclusion, that I would have preferred the author to let Henry speak for himself rather than injecting Henry's views into the author's own political perspective. However, that is not a major issue and the book serves its purpose well..

[David Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a captivating biography not only of the explosive life and times of one of America's most influential Founding Fathers, Patrick Henry, but also the era and the personalities of the key players in the founding of the Republic. Unger skillfully unveils the enigmatic personality of Henry, shedding light on his pivotal role in shaping the American Revolution and his unwavering commitment to liberty and individual rights. Henry owned slaved from the age of 18 when he married. In 1773 he wrote, "I am the master of slaves of my own purchase. I am drawn along by the general inconvenience of living here without them. I will not, I cannot justify it." Nonetheless, the number of slaves he owned increased over time. At his death in 1799, he owned 67 slaves.

Unger presents a well-rounded and comprehensive portrait of Patrick Henry, revealing his transformation from an ordinary Virginia merchant and farmer to a fierce champion of American independence. Henry was largely schooled at home and later “read the law”. He was greatly influenced by his mother who took to the teachings of preachers influenced by the Great Awakening. The book skillfully chronicles Henry's life, from his early challenges as a struggling farmer and merchant to his eventual rise as a renowned lawyer and influential political figure.

Henry failed as a merchant and moved to assist his father-in-law in running his tavern. It was there that he encountered many early luminaries and led to his becoming a lawyer. He was renowned for his willingness take on fights for the little guy. Which laid the groundwork for his political career. Unger explores the key events and speeches that defined Henry's career, such as his electrifying "Give me liberty, or give me death!" speech, which galvanized the colonists and solidified his reputation as a passionate advocate for American independence. The author contextualizes these moments within the broader historical framework, providing readers with a deep understanding of the political climate and the tensions leading up to the American Revolution.

Gratifyingly, the book humanizes Henry by providing nuanced and multidimensional portrait of his life before and after politics, his family dynamics, religious beliefs, and political ideologies. We see the complex nature of his character and the internal conflicts he faced as he navigated the treacherous path towards American independence. Most Americans likely assume that Henry was a Founding Father of the Constitution. However, he opposed the Constitution because he felt it gave too much power to the Executive. The Bill of Rights was to assuage the concerns of Henry and others, but it was not enough for Henry, and he continued to oppose the ratification.

Henry held steadfast commitment to individual liberties and his staunch opposition to centralized power, as evidenced by his vehement opposition to the Constitution. Henry’s friendship with Washington cooled as a result of his opposition to the Constitution. Washington, in an attempt to reconcile with Henry offered him several important positions, including Supreme Court and Secretary of State, but he declined.

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Anti-Founding Father

Patrick Henry occupies a unique space in the founding generation. Intensely talented and largely self-taught he was firmly on the side of revolution and independence against the British but also the prominent Anti-Federalist and opponent of the new Constitution.

As a result, the trajectory of his influence on American history looks like a sharp peak with a rapid rise and rapid decline. Despite all his best efforts, the Constitution was ratified without a Bill of Rights and the vast majority of Henry's proposed amendments were rejected.

That's where Henry largely disappears from the national historical stage. Unger's brief biography fortunately focuses most of its energy on Henry's life prior to this and its enjoyable reading descriptions of his intense oratorio skills. Despite being a lawyer, he acted more than he argued, complete with glancing upward to the heavens. It makes for enjoyable reading. The inclusion of the surviving transcripts of Henry's "Give me liberty or give me death" at the end is a welcome addition.

Overall, an enjoyable bio that offers decent insights into the anti-federalist opposition.

[Sean McGowan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good

[James Council · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best biographies I have ever read. It really struck a nice balance between being an enjoyable read and getting deep enough on the subjects that were integral to the life of Patrick Henry.

[Ryan Yoder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mind blowing

This may be the most quotable book I have read. I had no idea of the fame of Patrick Henry’s oratory abilities. Good book.

[Kyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great biography about an American Founding Father that fought for the idea of small government and the right of Individual citizens to live with few restrictions from it. This man was so fiery and interesting to listen to. Reading about him and his speaches was a gift. He seemed to be a God fearing man that many wanted to be the first president of the United States.

[Natasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book paints a rich portrait of Patrick Henry, showing how he became who he was and how he influenced his world. Below is a selection of some notes I made as I read this book.

His most famous speech, "Give me Liberty or Give me Death," was thrilling to read in this book. The author included a description of the actions Henry used to emphasize his words (which were recorded by a clergyman who was present). I don't feel I can do it justice by summarizing it, so I'll encourage you to find it and read it yourself. It is a powerful portrayal and shows how this speech lit a revolutionary fire.

Henry was a champion of freedom. He was the first Founding Father to call for independence. He learned from Montesquieu that individual rights are more secure in a small republic, so he was a huge advocate of states' rights. He called for the Bill of Rights, economic freedom, religious freedom, and freedom from slavery. He was enraged to learn the Bill of Rights failed to "restrict national government powers over the states," predicting a violent struggle within a century. He petitioned (unsuccessfully) for an amendment that "Each state . . . retain every power, jurisdiction and right which is not by their Constitution delegated to the . . . Federal Government."

In his youth, he was a charming storyteller, entertaining people with ballads and fiddling. After becoming a lawyer, his rustic dress and mountain twang endeared him to his clientele and caused his opponents to underestimate him. He made use of the expectant pause, theatrics and gestures. He played his voice like an instrument--lighting his face, and flashing his eyes. People would travel from near and far and crowd in or around the building where he'd be speaking. Thousands came to hear his last speech.

Henry's final public speech was to unite the federation of states (even though he preferred a loose confederation, the federalist movement was better than disunity). Judge Roane wrote, "Although [Henry's] language was plain, and free from unusual or high-flown words, his ideas were remarkable, bold and striking. By the joint effect of these two faculties . . . the power of his tone or voice and the grandness of his conceptions, he had a wonderful effect upon the feelings of his audience."

[Will Hudson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would highly recommend this book to everyone. It does a very good job of presenting Patrick Henry not so much from his own point of view, although it does that pretty well, but from how others perceived him. It also does a good job of showing the political divide in our country during his lifetime. A divide, that really isn't much different then it is today. You will get a better understanding of just how far we have come in our 250 odd years as a nation. How much has changed, and how much is still the same. There were many interesting tidbits, such as how many of the founding fathers were against slavery from the onset. How much Native American relations figured into the revolution. I was particularly surprised by one of Patrick Henry's ideas to improve those relations. The book challenged several long held beliefs of mine concerning our founding fathers, and reaffirmed others. I was particularly intrigued that I probably would have been as stuck between political ideologues back then, as I am now. I hope that one day, we can learn to have differences of opinion without it resulting in name calling, insults, and bloodshed.

[Aaron Crofut · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good introductory work to the life of Patrick Henry, one of America's most passionate Founding Fathers whose famous declaration of "Give me Liberty, or give me Death" has stirred American hearts down through the ages. While not as detailed as one might get from a biography by Remini or Chernow, this was a delightful read that brought to life this backwoods statesmen who led the charge to independence and later warned of pitfalls of the American Constitution. If nothing else, this is worth reading for the man's wit, which earned him a fearsome reputation in the early courtrooms of America.

[Christian Orton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot think of a better figure for Americans to learn about and model themselves after than Patrick Henry.

Today, people from all sides of the political spectrum cry about the unfairness of the system and injustices large and small, whether it be taxes, benefits for the rich, police brutality, illegal spying on citizens, etc.

Patrick Henry, before the Constitution was even ratified, called out all of these things. He predicted exactly how weak the document was, especially in defending the poor, the rural, the religious, etc.

He fought like hell to fix those issues, but to no avail. Because the wealthy, urban elites were the ones with the power. The ratification of the Constitution really was collusion among the wealthy elites that got pushed over the line because the poor, more rural states really had no other choice, no power to do anything different.

He specifically warned to the southern states that ratifying the Constitution would give the federal govt. immense power of the sword and the purse (military force and taxation), and it wasn't a decade before the Whiskey Rebellion proved him right as George Washington sent in federal agents to demand tax money, taking land from poor farmers who couldn't pay the tax. (Anyone paying attention to what's going on in the Netherlands?)

Patrick Henry warned well before the ratification that the seeds of a Civil War were being sown. And he was right. In his early life he was a fierce abolitionist, but again, like everything else, he lost out because of the powerful and wealthy. Imagine what would've occurred if any of the King George's acquiesced to Virginia's demands to abolish the slave trade. Most have no idea to what extent they fought to abolish it. What a different world we would have.

The more you read of Henry's words and actions, the more you understand the basis for the First Amendment, the Second Amendment and ideas like states' rights and nullification. And you realize how much those grifters in Washington DC and who write for major elitist corporate newspapers want to keep you in the dark about those things. Those things and many others protected the poor, the lesser of us, the minorities (not just in terms of race), the dreamers, the artists, the marginalized, those who just wanted to live life as they saw fit on a nice plot of land. The elites today and their followers in the Blue Church do everything in their power to make sure those people can be exploited...for their vote, mostly, to keep all those unpleasant grifters in power...for their money...for their emotional energy, like vampires these elites love to see you suffer (man, they loved COVID so much and the inflation that came after).

As I read, it became clear how much Patrick Henry aligns with my own political views. I believe we must resist significantly centralized power at all costs. Keep things small and manageable, so that the people have a say. I found it interesting how much Henry wanted to emulate parts of Switzerland's model. Today, we have a massive lack of representation; your Congressman doesn't give two farts about you and really can't understand the needs of his constituents anyway. The country is too large in terms of population and the federal govt. sits over too much land.

People frequently ask me (due to my studies in the colonial/revolutionary period) how I think the early founders would respond to our country today. I think without hesistation Henry/Jefferson/Madison would ask why we no longer care about liberty, and they would ask why we didn't divide into at least six countries by now.

Honestly, the best thing I think that can happen to our country is to set those dominos in motion. Texas should secede, followed quickly by Florida...and then many others would do so, possibly grouping up together (Alabama, Missippi and Georgia could form the United Republican States of the Southeastern Conference). People look at you crazy when you talk of secession, but that's because most are either slothful or ignorant (that's not meant to be derogatory, that's simply most humans across all time periods). People want to be safe and comfortable and it's hard to convince the masses that something is clearly better if it requires some risk and unknown.

There's so much talk about a lack of unity in our country today. We still have all the same divides as around the time the Constitution was written. And during the Civil War. Irreconcilable differences, really, at the fundamental level. That's the cause of the lack of unity; unity has alway been a facade, something the wealthy elite say exists during more peaceful times. But you want to see real patriotism, real unity, real community-oriented behaviors by multitudes again? Watch what happens should Texas ever secede. It'll be amazing. No reason we can't be a confederation of states though, but secession would have to occur first.

Patrick Henry was a wise man, a fair man, a champion to the lower classes, the less fortunate. He was a stunning example of what heroes of this country can be. I cannot express more deeply how much people should study him and understand his perspectives on politics. They are applicable to everyone along the political spectrum today (except the utopians like socialists/communists, etc. - stupid, childish, religious systems - obviously Henry was fiercly against giving the elites too much power as he knew all too well how they inevitably use it).

[Andrew · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book contains factual and typographic errors. Basically the cable news version of Mr. Henry's life. If you have read this and gave it a positive review, please take the time to read another Patrick Henry biography. ANY other biography. William Wirt, Moses Coit Tyler, William Wirt Henry, Henry Mayer, John Kukla, Mark Couvillon, etc.

[Bill Christman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Patrick Henry today is remembered for one phrase, 'give me liberty or give me death." Yet his influence is still being felt and he was so much more than one speech. He was one of the most successful politicians in Virginia, one of the most popular, and one who could be a thorn in one's side if you opposed him. He was a frontier lawyer and one who was able to work a crowd with any speech. His theatrics made him a legend in his own time.

Patrick Henry was not born into the elite. He is one of the first self made men in America. Studying law and then using skills he honed in conversations while working at taverns as a musician and barkeep, he was able to enliven his speeches. He also quickly became well read and well versed in the usage of power, yet at the same time he wanted to see it with limits. There are a few parliamentary moves he pulls showing just how talented a politician he was. After his famous speech he worked his was up to Governor of Virginia during the revolution and was effective in his three 1 year terms. He also tried to use all his power to actual help the Continental Army despite the fact that all supply to the army was on a state volunteer basis.

Unger points out that Henry would have a huge influence in 3 areas of the American founding. The call to arms - his speech, fighting for the rights of the people which would turn into the Bill of Rights, and the grandfather of states' rights. He opposed the Constitution because it lacked a Bill of Rights and also had a laser focus on the clause that the Congress could do what is 'necessary and proper." He derided the document pointing out that all who wrote it were the elite and Henry, representing the lower classes, resented it. Upon Henry's failure to defeat the Constitution in Virginia he lobbied through letters elsewhere but in the end, unlike many of his allies, pledged allegiance to the Washington led government.

Washington comes off in this book as a more crafty politician than many give him credit for. Washington several times tried to get Henry into the new government, but Henry always refused. He never traveled far and pretty much never left Virginia. He never served in the Continental Congress, or the new Federal government. He tended to remain in Virginia and concern himself with the concerns there. This combined with his frontier upbringing and residency probably assured his views that the states were the centers of power. I would surmise a reason he was so against a large federal government is he never dealt with problems beyond Virginia, and didn't want to. He offered over 60 amendments to the Constitution and all that can be said is the outlines of some of his thinking ended up in the Bill of Rights. It was in this time Henry would make speeches that states' rights advocates would use time and time again to justify less federal control. Henry's predictions were not wrong. Yet, in Henry's last speech, with less theatrics due to illness and age, he pledged his support for the Federal government under George Washington.

Unger book is a fine biography although at times he seems to talk of the other events of the time without regard to Henry, as if it is filler. Patrick Henry's influence has been diminished in the teaching of the founding, this does not make him less important. His influence could be said to have started the two bloodiest war in US history an that influence is still around today.

[Kim Dennis · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

This was not going to be a five-star book for me when in the very beginning, Unger described Washington's presidency as "tyrannical". I know Washington wasn't perfect -- no one is -- but "tyrannical"? -- that's more than a bit much. I can't imagine that our country would be a country without Washington, so I started the book with a chip on my shoulder. (Of course, based on his afterword, I'm not sure Unger would feel like the country separating would be such a bad thing.)

There were parts towards the beginning that I found very interesting, and I marked as things I might want to add to my notes to teach my students. However, I became less sure about that as I continued. There were several things in this book that made me think, "Wait...what? Are you sure about that?" (Although I didn't take the time to fact-check every time he made me raise my eyebrows.) There was one out and out historical inaccuracy that I know for sure. Granted, some of my all-time favorite historians have perpetuated fallacies, so I know it can happen -- even for reputed historians. However, when Unger wrote that Captain John Parker, leader of the Lexington militia, was one of the eight minutemen killed at Lexington, that was too much for me. That is totally untrue easily researched, and not even a common misconception he was perpetuating. After that I questioned whether I wanted to include what he'd written in my notes. I probably won't unless I have time to fact-check everything.

From then on, I read with a bit more trepidation. When I got to the part about the Constitution, he got my dander up again. He almost completely left Madison out of the writing of the Constitution. Where Madison was included, Unger made it sound like he was merely a marionette with Washington as the puppet-master pulling the strings. (He called the Constitution "Washington's revenge" for the lack of support he received during the Revolution. WHAT???)

At the beginning, he called Patrick Henry a driving force behind the Civil War. That was a huge stretch to me, and he never really substantiated his claim to my satisfaction (yet again making me think, WHAT?) I also don't agree with a lot of his conclusions about Henry's "prophetic" views about government and where we are today. At least if I read what he was saying right, among other things, he seemed to think that the federal government stepping in to end segregation in the south was government overreach. On what planet should states be allowed to practice unrestricted discrimination, harassment, abuse, etc. of any portion of their population???? This was what made me decide to round down instead of up.

I did finish reading it, and I did feel a little sad when Henry died, which often happens to me in a biography, although this time it was much less than I have felt with other biographies. Overall, I felt like this book left a lot to be desired.

[Jrd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Things I learned from this book: Patrick Henry was maybe the most responsible individual for America's break from the British Empire. He planted it in the minds of people and advocated for it before anyone. George Washington was far more authoritarian then he is made out to be, including proposing dictatorial power allowances several times. When Patrick was governor of Virginia he was willing to become authoritarian when convenient. Patrick Henry married/stole his son's sweetheart after becoming a widower, oof. He loved children and was so prolific he was nicknamed "The Belgian Hare." The British hired German soldiers as mercenaries to fight in the New World. Are the Germans on the wrong side of every war? Lol. Most Americans just wanted to be left alone and most thought that the revolutionaries would just become a similar entity of taxation and oppression that King George had been if the revolution was successful. This basically came true. Patrick Henry thought after throwing off the british they would become a mostly agrarian society uninhibited by government and taxation, free to do as they wished. Washington and the other advocates of centralized power attacked this concept as "anarchy" (complete with the usual slur). Individuals who desire control always call freedom anarchy. Patrick Henry proposed an idea to subsidize American/Native American marriages to unite all the people across the New World. Only allowing landowners to vote prevented the poor subsistance farmers from having a say in taxes that they would have to pay, allowing the rich farmers and coastal businessmen to determine what others would be forced to cough up. Farmers against the constitution staged constitution burnings. They said that Washington and his cronies in power were parasites who lived off of the people and taxes and were nothing without them. Henry was prophetic in the way that he foresaw the President becoming a figure with king-like powers and the legislature a behemoth with no limitation on its ability to tax. Washington resigned eventually not because he didnt desire power but because he was becoming unpopular after putting down the Whiskey Rebellions. People turned against him and the papers painted him as King George's successor, cracking down on those rebellions as King George had cracked down on the Boston Tea Party. Kentucky was an anti-federalist movement breaking away from Virginia. There were at least two different cultures in the newly freed American colonies from the beginning. Essentially Washington/Hamilton/Adam's America (a pre revolution status quo with an American federal head instead of a British one) and Henry/Jefferson's America (a union of free sovereign states that would band together only for common defense against foreign attackers). Southern secession was brewing even before the adoption of the Constitution. A rift that festered for 80 years, a union held together by the federalists imposing their will.

[Aspar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reaps praise on Henry while either skimming over, or justifying his faults. Much of the book is dedicated to adoration of Henry’s oratory skills through superfluous use of adjectives, reading almost as a fanfiction piece at times. Skims over the death of his first wife, which seems largely due to his negligence. Also skims over the contention between his slave ownership and liberal ideas on freedom and liberty, justifying it along the same lines that Washington, Jefferson, and Madison justify ownership.

Author seems to adopt Henry’s dislike of centralized government and of the Federalist, and tinges any discussion of prominent Federalists or their policies with intense bias against them. For instance, the author argues that the similarities between Congressional taxation of whiskey and British taxation of tea are evidence of a tyrannical and oppressive Congress, as “prophesied” by Henry, while ignoring key differences between the two. Such as the fact that Congress is representative of the American people.

Author, through Henry, touts the benefits of a federation style of government while not even mentioning the pitfalls that were elucidated under the Articles of Confederation.

This book should be read for a detailed description of Henry’s life, through his eyes. This book should not be read for an objective description of events, politics, or major persons, of the American Revolution era.

Also author repeatedly claims that Henry ranks as the second most famous Founding Father behind Washington, a claim I find hard to reconcile with the common perception of Benjamin Franklin as the #2. This book comes off as trying just a little too hard to make Henry seem important. Not to say he was not an important or impressive figure, but, he definitvely did not have as big an impact as others who the author tries to compete with, such as Washington, Hamilton, Jefferson, Madison, and Adams.

When describing other Fathers, author also used very dismissive language in regard to either their physical appearance, intellectual abilities, or political allegiances, which I found surprising, displeasing, and misinformed.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Biographies by Harlow Giles Unger are the best at covering the life and philosophical history of its time. He has the best suited writing style for this history. I hope to read all his revolutionary biographies.

I also appreciate the depth of Unger’s research. Patrick Henry opens the eyes to what freedom is and is not. It’s hard to fathom someone opposing the Constitution for making Government too big when we are of the few who enjoy the freedoms found in this rule of law. Henry showed that too much power was in the Legislature as it was in the Executive. His leadership at the Constitutional Convention resulting in the adding of the Bill of Rights, which ironically James Madison (and many others) did not feel was needed.

I appreciate Unger for presenting Washington as national government minded as he was. It was very likely that Washington and Federalists did not want a British national government but did not mind their own national government. I don’t think that is far-fetched. Patrick Henry, not an Aristocrat like the other famous Virginians, wanted a lose Confederation more like states rights. Henry’s predictions of big government issues came true in both Washington and Adams administration. Sadly, Henry died before the Jefferson dynasty began.

I think Patrick Henry would’ve been a great president. He had an incredible following and would have become president if he had wanted to. But I think he was honest as well. People like him will only go so far in power. He had a high sense of responsibility in his private life.

Patrick Henry’s idea of a Republic is the way it should be, rule of law governing a small society. It does not work well in a large society and ultimately America itself would be the Republic’s downfall. This country was destined to become big, which would make for more rules which would in teen limit those people’s freedom. Henry’s world was not practical as society grew, but his ideas strongly shaped the Constitution to be written as it was.

[Judy Bushy]

Patrick Henry has become my favorite of our great founding Fathers!

I had not realized that he was one of the first voices in the colonies to speak up for the revolution! His speech "Give me Liberty or give me death" that i memorized some six decades ago, is how he felt about the tyrants of England who were treating the Americans poorly and war must come.

Of course the greatest of his contributions to the United States of America was that he was totally against becoming one nation. His reason was that the new nation might become to tyrannical as the old. He demanded that the Constitution did not have a Bill of rights. He fought against the acceptance of the Constitution and he was a brilliant orator! Virginians would likely would have listened to his impassioned objections except for the promise of a Bill of Rights.

Today when the "cancel culture" cancels various opinions we don't get a clear view of all perspectives and civil discourse seems impossible. When FBI causes the communication technology monopolies to withhold the news which would change the opinion of many prior to an election, we see what Patrick Henry feared. There is no longer the freedom of speech, the press and violent actions are taken against those who only wish to follow God's establishment of families and save the lives of our innocents, even the Bill of Rights hasn't held back tyranny.

[Evan Þ. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd seen Patrick Henry before bouncing into and out of histories of the Revolution, but this's the first actual biography of his I've read.  I was struck first by his rise to prominence, and how premoniscent it was of Lincoln's - how he studied law by himself, won the trust of his frontier neighbors and won fame by winning their cases, and how he was elected to the legislature and won further fame by making notable speeches about the topic that would soon become prominent.

In Henry's case, that topic was independence, and - after a quick stint at the First Continental Congress - he would remain active on the state level in Virginia for the rest of his life.  He was an excellent administrator as governor of Virginia, supporting Washington's army much more than the Continental Congress itself.  Then, he favored closer cooperation among the new states, but famously opposed the Constitution for giving too much power to the central government.  (Prophetically so, I say from my vantage point.)  Still, he would come out of retirement to oppose secession over the Alien and Sedition Acts, saying that peaceful remedies had not yet been exhausted.  (Again prophetically, as Jefferson would shortly be elected to bring them down.)

Henry was a much more interesting character than I'd thought, and I can't help pondering the arc of his career.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

An engaging and properly in-depth (which is to say, middlingly) exploration of Patrick Henry. I had known little about him, beyond some distant relation and his "Give me liberty or give me death" speech. He was an anti-federalist, which could be translated vaguely into Libertarian, but the past is so damn strange that nothing ever matches one-to-one.

What was most fun about these ancient people was perhaps how petty and one-issue oriented they were. Henry's anti-federalist opinions were largely based in failed attempt of the Confederate government to cede trade and navigation rights of the Mississippi to the Spanish. Washington was Federalist because of how badly supported he was by the independent states during the Revolutionary War. Whatever the case, Henry made a lot of dire political predictions about government overreach inherent to the federal system that have largely come to pass. In the case of the Alien and Sedition Acts, during his lifetime.

As with a lot of historical biographies, a certain tolerance for the deeply troubling cultural mores of the time, slavery being the worst, but also intense political corruption and stealing one son's prospective wife for one's self.