Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!: Main Idea
Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!: Main Idea
The most famous line is the last one: "Give me liberty or give me death!" (75). But why does Patrick Henry feel he's come to that point? (If you ask us, we'd rather have life and liberty. It's the best of both worlds, you know?)
Henry's main point, though, is that if the colonies want liberty from Great Britain, they're going to have to fight for it. They've tried and failed at every other means of gaining liberty, and British boots are on the ground. At this point, the only way out is through…which means Henry and his buddies could die fighting.
Oh, and if they survive a war but don't win it, they'll probably be executed as traitors. Yeesh.
Questions
- Patrick Henry talks about liberty, freedom, and slavery a lot in this speech. How do you think he would define each of those terms?
- If you were at the Second Virginia Convention and you were opposed to Henry's position, how would you refute his arguments?
- How strong is Henry's argument that armed conflict is the only way? Explain.
- On a scale of 1-10, with George Washington as a 10 (obviously), how would you rate Patrick Henry as a Founding Father, and why?
Chew On This
Patrick Henry makes a compelling, logical argument for why the colonists must go to war.
Patrick Henry's argument for war is based in appeals to emotion and pride.
Quotes
Quote #1
Let us not deceive ourselves, sir. These are the implements of war and subjugation, the last arguments to which kings resort. I ask, gentlemen, sir, what means this martial array, if its purpose be not to force us to submission? [...] They are meant for us; they can be meant for no other. (22-24, 28)
Patrick Henry looks around and realizes, "Uh-oh, there are a lot of British army and navy types here on the wrong side of the ocean." He also knows Great Britain doesn't have any enemies in this part of the world, so why are all those big guns pointed straight at North America? He doesn't think it takes a genius to figure out what's going on.
Quote #2
If we wish to be free, if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending, if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained, we must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms and to the God of Hosts is all that is left us! (44-46)
About halfway through the speech, Patrick Henry explicitly states his main idea: we've tried everything else and it hasn't worked. The only thing we can do now is fight. (And pray.)
Quote #3
Sir, we are not weak if we make proper use of those means which the God of nature hath placed in our power. Three millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us. (53-54)
Continuing his fight-and-pray line of reasoning, Henry makes a classic appeal to God and Country. This tends to go the same way, wherever and whenever it shows up in history. Basically it says, "Our cause is just, so God must be on our side. Also, our country is awesome, so we'll totally win."
Quote #4
If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable and let it come! I repeat, sir, let it come. (59-64)
Okay, so Patrick Henry is getting a little figurative with his language here. The Founding Fathers frequently shrieked that Great Britain was trying to enslave them, which is ironic since they were literally enslaving thousands of people with literal chains. It was a huge blind spot for most of them (that's where the irony comes in).
The reference to Boston here deals with the fact that Great Britain did crack down on Beantown pretty hard after a little incident called the Boston Tea Party, so Boston became sort of a rallying cry for other areas. Nobody wanted to be Boston.
Quote #5
Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace, but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field. Why stand we here idle? (66-70)
Henry jumps ahead of himself a little bit here, because the first shots of the war won't be fired at Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts, for almost another month.
When he says "the war has actually begun" we assume he's referring to the 18th-century arms race that's going on as both sides build up their armies. He's right—though he can't possibly know it—that the next news they'll get from up north will be news of battle.