Patrick Henry (May 29, 1736-June 6, 1799) was an American Revolutionary leader and orator, who spoke the phrase, "Give me Liberty or give me death!" He was Commander in Chief of the Virginia Militia, a member of the Virginia General Assembly and House of Burgesses, 1765; and a member of the Continental Congress, 1774-75. He was the five-time Governor of the State of Virginia, 1776-79, 1784-86, and was instrumental in writing the Constitution of Virginia.
Patrick Henry was offered numerous positions by President George Washington and Congress, but he declined them all, including: Secretary of State, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, U.S. Minister to Spain, U.S. Minister to France and U.S. Senator.
On the reverse of The Stamp Act Resolves, passed in the House of Burgesses, May 1765, Patrick Henry wrote:
<This brought on the war which finally separated the two countries and gave independence to ours. Whether this will prove a blessing or a curse, will depend upon the use our people make of the blessings, which a gracious God hath bestowed on us. If they are wise, they will be great and happy. If they are of a contrary character, they will be miserable.
Righteousness alone can exalt them as a nation. Reader! Whoever thou art, remember this, and in thy sphere practice virtue thyself, and encourage it in others.
(signed) P. Henry.> 1736PH001
Prior to the Revolution, in 1768, in Spottsylvania County, Virginia, three Baptist ministers, John Waller, Lewis Craig, and James Childs, were arrested for preaching contrary to the Anglican Church. After 4 weeks in prison, Lewis Craig was brought to trial. Governor John Blair, Sr., rebuked the sheriff of Spottsylvania County:
<You may not molest these conscientious men, so long as they behave themselves in a manner becoming pious Christians. I am told that they differ in nothing from our Church but in (the manner of) Baptism, and their renewing of the ancient discipline, by which they have reformed some sinners and brought them to be truly penitent...If this be their behavior, it were to be wished we had some of it among us.> 1736PH002
After 8 weeks in prison, John Waller and Lewis Childs were brought to trial for "preaching the Gospel contrary to law." The prosecuting attorney stated:
<May it please your worship, these men are great disturbers of the peace: they can not meet a man upon the road, but they must ram a text of Scripture down his throat!> 1736PH003
Attorney Patrick Henry road 50 miles to defend the preachers. He secured the immediate discharge of his clients after presenting his defense:
<May it please your lordships, what did I hear read? Did I hear an expression that these men, whom you worships are about to try for misdemeanor, are charged with preaching the Gospel of the Son of God?> 1736PH004
In 1770, Baptist preachers, William Webber and Joseph Anthony, were arrested and thrown into Chesterfield County jail, where "they did much execution by preaching through the grates of their windows." In Middlesex County several Baptist ministers were imprisoned and treated as criminals.
In 1772, the Virginia Gazette printed an article which:
<...sought to justify the persecution, charging Baptists with heresy and hateful doctrines, with disturbing the peace of religion, and denying that they were entitled to the benefit of the toleration act.> 1736PH005
In a courtroom speech, Patrick Henry stated:
<I know, sir, how well it becomes a liberal man and a Christian to forget and forgive. As individuals professing a holy religion, it is our bounden duty to forgive injuries done us as individuals.
But when the character of Christian you add the character of patriot, you are in a different situation. Our mild and holy system of religion inculcates an admirable maxim of forbearance. If your enemy smite one cheek, turn the other to him.
But you must stop there. You cannot apply this to your country. As members of a social community, this maxim does not apply to you. When you consider injuries done to your country your political duty tells you of vengeance.
Forgive as a private man, but never forgive public injuries.
Observations of this nature are exceedingly unpleasant, but it is my duty to use them.> 1736PH006
James Ireland (1746-1806) is commemorated on a plaque, which stated:
<In memory of James Ireland, Minister of the Gospel Born in Edinburgh, Scotland and converted in Frederick County, Va. Baptized and ordained at Sandy Creek, N.C. Imprisoned at Culpeper, Va. for preaching the gospel Organizer of Baptist churches, pastor of Buckmarsh Baptist Church 1786-1806 His body lies in Buckmarsh Cemetery near here.
"Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye, for we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard." Acts IV: 19-20
James Ireland was one of thirty Baptist preachers imprisoned in Virginia during the three years 1768-1770. Warned that he would be arrested if he attempted to preach, he counted the cost and preached anyhow. He was standing on a table speaking in the open air when two men seized him and dragged him to prison for preaching without proper authority. The laws under which he was imprisoned had been repealed seventy years earlier, but that mattered little to the authorities. At that time, the Church of England was the established church of Virginia and some bigoted and ungodly churchmen were completely opposed to the work of any other denomination and cared not how they thwarted it.
History of Christianity is a six part survey designed to stimulate your curiosity by providing glimpses of pivotal events and persons in the spread of the church.
Housed with roughs and drunks in a cell infested with mice and spiders, Ireland did not have an easy time of it. The jailer, who also owned a local tavern, encouraged the drunks to beat him up. Nonetheless, Ireland persisted in preaching through his window bars and drew large audiences. Local authorities sought to break up the crowd by sending horsemen to ride among them, trampling and beating them. The jailer also allowed poisoned food to be delivered to the preacher. Perhaps the most disgraceful action taken against the godly convict was when two of his opponents pulled up a bench and urinated in his face as he tried to preach. In spite of all such abuse, and other attempts on his life (mentioned in the excerpt below), Ireland addressed letters of encouragement to his friends "From My Palace in Culpepper."
Following William and Mary's Toleration Act of 1770, Ireland obtained his release, having been incarcerated five months. He went on to become a mighty planter of Baptist churches.
The following excerpt is from a compendium by Raleigh Travers Green and Philip Slaughter. Excerpt from Genealogical and historical notes on Culpeper county, Virginia.
In 1769 or 1770, at a meeting in Pittsylvania County, Mr. Ireland was baptised by the Rev'd Samuel Harris, immediately returned to his home with credentials signed by eleven ministers, "and in the spirit and power of his Master devoted himself to the great work of preaching the gospel." But, his growing popularity and success excited the indignation of those who were in authority and brought down upon his head fierce persecution. "Being roughly seized by order of magistrates, he was thrust into the Culpeper jail because he had dared to preach without the authority or sanction of the bishop." He was accompanied to prison amid the abuses of his persecutors, and while incarcerated in his cell not only suffered by the inclemency of the weather, but by the personal maltreatment of his foes. They attempted to blow him up with gunpowder, to suffocate him by burning brimstone, etc., at the door and window of his prison, and even to poison him. He states that he might speak of a hundred instances of cruelty which were practiced.> 1736PH027
Patrick Henry expressed his disapproval of the slave trade in a letter to Robert Pleasants, January 18, 1773:
<I take this opportunity to acknowledge the receipt of Anthony Benezet's Book against the slave trade. I thank you for it....
Is it not amazing, that at a time when the rights of humanity are defined and understood with precision in a country above all others fond of liberty, that in such an age and in such a country, we find men professing a religion most humane, mild, meek, gentle and generous, adopting a Principle as repugnant to humanity, as it is inconsistent to the Bible and destructive to liberty?....
I will not, I cannot justify it....I believe a time will come when an opportunity will be offered to abolish this lamentable evil....
It is a debt we owe to the purity of our Religion to show that it is at variance with that law which warrants slavery. I know not when to stop. I would say many things on this subject, a serious review of which gives gloomy perspective to future times.> 1736PH007
On March 23, 1775, the Second Virginia Convention had been relocated from the House of Burgesses to St. John's Church in Richmond, because of increasing tensions due to the Britain imposing the: Currency Act (1764), Sugar Act (1764), Stamp Act (1765), Quartering Act (1765), Declaratory Act (1766), Townshend Act (1767), Tea Act (1773), Boston Port Act (1774), Justice Act (1774), Massachusetts Government Act (1774), Quartering Act (1774), Quebec Act (1774), and Proclamation of Rebellion (1775).
Patrick Henry stated:
<No man thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism, as well as abilities, of the very worthy gentlemen who have just addressed the House. But different men often see the same subject in different lights; and, therefore, I hope that it will not be thought disrespectful to those gentlemen, if, entertaining as I do opinions of a character very opposite to theirs, I shall speak forth my sentiments freely and without reserve.
This is no time for ceremony. The question before the House is one of awful moment to this country. For my own part I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery; and in proportion to the magnitude of the subject ought to be the freedom of the debate. It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth, and fulfill the great responsibility which we hold to God and our country.
Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offense, I should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country, and of an act of disloyalty towards the majesty of heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings.
Mr. President, it is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren, till she transforms us into beasts. Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation?
For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth - to know the worst and to provide for it. I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided; and that is the lamp of experience.
I know of no way of judging of the future but by the past. And judging by the past, I wish to know what there has been in the conduct of the British ministry for the last ten years, to justify those hopes with which gentlemen have been pleased to solace themselves and the House?
Is it that insidious smile with which our petition has been lately received? Trust it not, sir; it will prove a snare to your feet. Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss. Ask yourselves how this gracious reception of our petition comports with these warlike preparations which cover our waters and darken our land.
Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation?
Have we shown ourselves so unwilling to be reconciled that force must be called in to win back our love? 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?
Can gentlemen assign any other possible motives for it? Has Great Britain any enemy, in this quarter of the world, to call for all this accumulation of navies and armies?
No, sir, she has none. They are meant for us; they can be meant for no other. They are sent over to bind and rivet upon us those chains which the British ministry have been so long forging. And what have we to oppose to them? Shall we try argument? Sir, we have been trying that for the last ten years. Have we anything new to offer on the subject? Nothing.
We have held the subject up in every light of which it is capable; but it has been all in vain. Shall we resort to entreaty and humble supplication? What terms shall we find which have not been already exhausted? Let us not, I beseech you, sir, deceive ourselves longer.
Sir, we have done everything that could be done to avert the storm which is now coming on. We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before the throne, and have implored its interposition to arrest the tyrannical hands of the ministry and Parliament.
Our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrances have produced additional violence and insult; our supplications have been disregarded; and we have been spurned, with contempt, from the foot of the throne. In vain, after these things, may we indulge the fond hope of peace and reconciliation. There is no longer any room for hope.
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!
They tell us, sir, that we are weak - unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance, by lying supinely on our backs, and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot?
Sir, we are not weak, if we make a proper use of the 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. Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us.
The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, sir, we have no election. 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 it, sir, let it come!
It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. 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? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!> 1736PH008
On June 12, 1776, as a member of the committee chosen to draft the first constitution of the Commonwealth of Virginia, Patrick Henry supported Article 16 of the Virginia Declaration of Rights, drafted by George Mason and James Madison:
<That religion, or the duty which we owe to our Creator, and the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and conviction, not by force or violence; and therefore all men are equally entitled to the free exercise of religion, according to the dictates of conscience; and that it is the mutual duty of all to practice Christian forbearance, love, and charity towards each other.> 1736PH009
Patrick Henry reprinted and distributed Soame Jennings' 1776 book, View of the Internal Evidence of Christianity. In 1784, Patrick Henry supported a Bill in the Virginia Assembly, "Provision for Teachers of the Christian Religion":
<The general diffusion of Christian knowledge hath a natural tendency to correct the morals of men, restrain their vices, and preserve the peace of society.> 1736PH010
In 1786, Patrick Henry wrote to his sister, Ann Christian, in Kentucky, upon learning of the death of her husband, Colonel William Christian:
<Would to God I could say something to give relief to the dearest of women and sisters....
My heart is full. Perhaps I may never see you in this world. O may we meet in Heaven, to which the merits of Jesus will carry those who love and serve Him.
Heaven will, I trust, give you its choicest comfort and preserve your family. Such is the prayer of him who thinks it his honor and pride to be, Your Affectionate Brother, Patrick Henry.> 1736PH014
Patrick Henry stated in a speech on the Federal Constitution during the Virginia Ratifying Convention, June 5, 1788:
<Suspicion is a virtue as long as its object is the public good, and as long as it stays within proper bounds...Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect every one who approaches that jewel...
Show me that age and country where the rights and liberties of the people were placed on the sole chance of their rulers being good men, without a consequent loss of liberty?> 1736PH212
On August 20, 1796, Patrick Henry wrote to his daughter, Betsy:
<Amongst other strange things said of me, I hear it is said by the deists that I am one of their number; and, indeed, that some good people think I am no Christian. This thought gives me much more pain than the appellation of Tory; because I think religion of infinitely higher importance than politics; and I find much cause to reproach myself that I have lived so long and have given no decided and public proofs of my being a Christian. But, indeed, my dear child, this is the character which I prize far above all this world has, or can boast.> 1736PH015
Patrick Henry stated:
<Bad men cannot make good citizens. It is impossible that a nation of infidels or idolaters should be a nation of free-men. It is when a people forget God, that tyrants forge their chains. A vitiated state of morals, a corrupted public conscience, is incompatible with freedom.> 1736PH016
William Wirt Henry, the grandson and biographer of Patrick, related that when one of his neighbors found him reading the Bible, Patrick Henry held it up and said:
<The Bible is worth all other books which have ever been printed, and it has been my misfortune that I have never found time to read it with the proper attention and feeling till lately. I trust in the mercy of Heaven that it is not yet too late.> 1736PH017
Shortly before his death, in a letter to Archibald Blair, January 8, 1799, Patrick Henry commented on the French Revolution:
<And, whilst I see the dangers that threaten ours from her [France's] intrigues and her arms, I am not so much alarmed as at the apprehension of her destroying the great pillars of all government and of social life,-I mean virtue, morality, and religion. This is the armor, my friend, and this alone, that renders us invincible. These are the tactics we should study. If we lose these, we are conquered, fallen indeed.> 1736PH018
On March 4, 1799, in the last public speech he gave before his death,Patrick Henry stated:
<Let us trust God and our better judgment to set us right hereafter. United we stand, divided we fall. Let us not split into factions which must destroy that union upon which our existence hangs. Let us preserve our strength for the French, the English, the Germans, or whoever else shall dare invade our territory, and not exhaust it in civil commotions and intestine wars.> 1736PH011
In failing health, Patrick Henry wrote in 1799 to President John Adams, to express regrets that he would not be able to serve as the U.S. Minister to France, nor the term he had been elected to in Virginia's legislature. Knowing his time was short he told his family:
<Oh, how wretched should I be at this moment, if I had not made my peace with God!> 1736PH019
While Patrick Henry was dying, he spoke:
<Doctor, I wish you to observe how real and beneficial the religion of Christ is to a man about to die....I am, however, much consoled by reflecting that
the religion of Christ has, from its first appearance in the world, been attacked in vain by all the wits, philosophers, and wise ones, aided by every power of man, and its triumphs have been complete.> 1736PH020
In his Last Will and Testament, which he wrote November 20, 1798, Patrick Henry stated:
<I have now disposed of all my property to my family; there is one thing more I wish I could give them, and that is the Christian religion. If they had that, and I had not given them one shilling, they would be rich, and if they had not that, and I had given them all the world, they would be poor.
This is all the inheritance I give to my dear family. The religion of Christ will give them one which will make them rich indeed.> 1736PH021
Bishop William Meade, who had been one of George Washington's aides during the Revolutionary War, wrote of Patrick Henry that:
<His attachment to the [Episcopal] Church of his fathers is clearly established.> 1736PH022
Bishop William Meade described a letter from Rev. Dresser to two Church historians regarding Patrick Henry, in which Rev. Dresser wrote:
<It is stated, in an article which I saw some time ago, from the Protestant Episcopalian, and, I presume, from one of you, that Patrick Henry was once an infidel, &c. His widow and some of his descendants are residing in this county, and I am authorized by one of them to say that the anecdote related is not true. He ever had, I am informed, a very abhorrence of infidelity, and actually wrote an answer to "Paine's Age of Reason," but destroyed it before his death. His widow informed me that he received the Communion as often as an opportunity was offered, and on such occasions always fasted until after he had communicated, and spent the day in the greatest retirement. This he did both while Governor and afterward. Had he lived a few years longer, he would have probably done much to check the immoral influence of one of his compatriots, whose works are now diffusing the poison of infidelity throughout our land.> 1736PH023
Patrick Henry was writing a refutation of Paine's Age of Reason, but after reading Bishop Richard Watson's Apology for the Bible, he considered that work sufficient. Patrick Henry wrote to his daughter, Betsy, August 20, 1796, referring to:
<...the puny efforts of Paine.> 1736PH026
Patrick Henry's grandson, William Wirt Henry, described Henry as one who:
<Looked to the restraining and elevating principles of Christianity as the hope of his country's institutions.> 1736PH024
Patrick Henry Fontaine, also a grandson, said Patrick Henry had committed himself to the:
<Earnest efforts to establish true Christianity in our country.> 1736PH025
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American Quotations by William J. Federer, 2024, All Rights Reserved, Permission granted to use with acknowledgement.
Endnotes:
1736PH001. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Patrick Henry, May 1765, written on the back of The Stamp Act Resolves, passed in the House of Burgesses. Act resolves passed in the House of Burgesses in Virginia. William Wirt Henry (grandson of Patrick Henry), editor, Patrick Henry-Life, Correspondence and Speeches (NY: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1891; NY: Burt Franklin, 1969), Vol. 1, pp. 81-81; 91-93. E.L. Magoon, Orators of the American Revolution (New York: Charles Scribner, 1857, reprinted by Sightext Publications, El Segundo, CA: 1969), p. 253. Magoon, ed., Orators of the American Revolution, p. 253. Norine Dickson Campbell, Patrick Henry: Patriot and Statesman (Old Greenwich, CT: Devin Adair, 1969, 1975), p. 57. John Eidsmoe, Christianity and the Constitution-The Faith of Our Founding Fathers (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, A Mott Media Book, 1987; 6th printing, 1993), p. 302. Peter Marshall and David Manuel, The Glory of America (Bloomington, MN: Garborg's Heart'N Home, Inc., 1991), 6.6. Stephen McDowell and Mark Beliles, "The Providential Perspective" (Charlottesville, VA: The Providence Foundation, P.O. Box 6759, Charlottesville, Va. 22906, January 1994), Vol. 9, No. 1, p. 4. Allen Nevins, The American States During and After the Revolution: 1770-1789 (New York: MacMillan, 1924), pp. 431- 432, Tim LaHaye, Faith of Our Founding Fathers (Brentwood, TN: Wolgemuth & Hyatt, Publishers, Inc., 1987), p. 257.
1736PH002. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Patrick Henry, 1768, in Spottsylvania County, Virginia, defending Baptist ministers, John Waller, Lewis Craig, and James Childs, in a trial before Governor John Blair, Sr. 1736PH003. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Patrick Henry. 1768, statement of prosecuting attorney, Spottsylvania County, Virginia, against John Waller and Lewis Childs.
1736PH004. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Patrick Henry, 1768, defense of Baptist ministers in Spottsylvania County, Virginia.
1736PH005. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Patrick Henry. 1772, article in the Virginia Gazette regarding Baptists.
1736PH006. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Patrick Henry. William Wirt Henry (grandson of Patrick Henry), editor, Patrick Henry: Life, Correspondence and Speeches (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1891), Vol. III, pp. 606-607.
1736PH027. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Patrick Henry. Plaque commemorating Baptist Preacher James Ireland.
1736PH007. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Patrick Henry. January 18, 1773, in a letter to Robert Pleasants. Norine Dickson Campbell, Patrick Henry: Patriot and Statesman (Old Greenwich, CT: Devin Adair, 1969, 1975), pp. 99-100. Library of Virginia, 800 East Broad Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219-8000 http://www.lva.virginia.gov/lib- edu/education/psd/nation/henry1773.htm John Eidsmoe, Christianity and the Constitution-The Faith of Our Founding Fathers (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, A Mott Media Book, 1987; 6th printing, 1993), p. 311.
1736PH008. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Patrick Henry. March 23, 1775, in The Second Virginia Convention given at St. John's Church in Richmond Virginia. The Annals of America, 20 vols. (Chicago, IL: Encyclopedia Britannica, 1968), Vol. 2, pp. 322-333. William Wirt Henry (grandson of Patrick Henry), editor, Sketches of the Life and Character of Patrick Henry (Philadelphia: Claxton, 1818; Revised edition, NY: M'Elrath & Sons, 1835), pp. 137-142. George Bancroft, History of the United States of America, 6 vols. (Boston: Charles C. Little and James Brown, Third Edition, 1838), p. 29. Frederick C. Packard, Jr., ed., Are You an American?-Great Americans Speak (NY: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1951), pp. 1-4. A. Craig Baird, American Public Addresses (NY: McGraw Hill, 1956), complete speech, pp. 29-36. Ronald Reid, ed., Three Centuries of American Rhetorical Discourse-An Anthology and a Review (Prospect Heights, Ill: Waveland Press, Inc., 1988), pp. 115-116. Peter Marshall and David Manual, The Light and the Glory (Old Tappan, NJ: Fleming Revell Co., 1977), p. 269. William Safire, ed., Lend Me Your Ears-Great Speeches in History (NY: W.W. Norton & Company 1992), pp. 86-89.
1736PH009. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Patrick Henry. June 12, 1776, supported Article 16 of the Virginia Bill of Rights. John Bartlett, Bartlett's Familiar Quotations (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1855, 1980), p. 383. D.P. Diffine, Ph.D., One Nation Under God-How Close a Separation? (Searcy, Arkansas: Harding University, Belden Center for Private Enterprise Education, 6th edition, 1992), p. 9.
1736PH010. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Patrick Henry. 1784, in a "Provision for Teachers of the Christian Religion." Anson Phelps Stokes and Leo Pfeffer, Church and State in the United States, 3 vols. (NY: Harper & Brothers, Publishers, 1955), pp. 97-98. John Eidsmoe, Christianity and the Constitution-The Faith of Our Founding Fathers (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, A Mott Media Book, 1987; 6th printing, 1993), p. 310. Patrick Henry, Life, Correspondence and Speeches, William Wirt Henry, editor (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1891), Vol. II, p. 490.
1736PH011. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Patrick Henry, March 4, 1799, in the last public speech he gave before his death,. William Wirt Henry, Patrick Henry: Life, Correspondences and Speeches, 1891, vol. 2, p. 609-610).
1736PH212. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Patrick Henry. June 5, 1788, in a speech on the Federal Constitution during the Virginia Ratifying Convention.
1736PH014. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Patrick Henry. 1786, in a letter to his sister, Ann Christian, at the time of her husband's death. Anson Phelps Stokes and Leo Pfeffer, Church and State in the United States, 3 vols. (NY: Harper & Brothers, Publishers, 1955), p. 415. Norine Dickson Campbell, Patrick Henry: Patriot and Statesman (Greenwich, Connecticut: Devin-Adair Co., 1969), p. 271. John Eidsmoe, Christianity and the Constitution-The Faith of Our Founding Fathers (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, A Mott Media Book, 1987; 6th printing, 1993), p. 314. Peter Marshall & David Manuel, The Glory of America (Bloomington, MN: Garborg's Heart 'N Home, 1991), 9.18. M.E. Bradford, Religion & The Framers: The Biographical Evidence (Marlborough, NH: Plymouth Rock Foundation, 1991), pp. 4-5.
1736PH015. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Patrick Henry. August 20, 1796, in a letter to his daughter, Betsy. S.G. Arnold, The Life of Patrick Henry (Auburn: Miller, Orton & Mulligan, 1854), p. 250.
1736PH016. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Patrick Henry. Tryon Edwards, D.D., The New Dictionary of Thoughts-A Cyclopedia of Quotations (Garden City, NY: Hanover House, 1852; revised and enlarged by C.H. Catrevas, Ralph Emerson Browns and Jonathan Edwards [descendent, along with Tryon, of Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758), president of Princeton], 1891; The Standard Book Company, 1955, 1963), p. 337.
1736PH017. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Patrick Henry. Statement to life-long friend, George Dabney, MS, who wrote of the comment in a Letter to Mr. Wirt. William Wirt Henry (grandson of Patrick Henry), editor, Patrick Henry: Life, Correspondence and Speeches (NY: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1891), Vol. II, p. 519, 621. William Wirt Henry, The Life and Character of Patrick Henry (Philadelphia: James Webster, 1818), p. 402. Henry H. Halley, Halley's Bible Handbook (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1927, 1965), p. 18. John Eidsmoe, Christianity and the Constitution-The Faith of Our Founding Fathers (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, A Mott Media Book, 1987; 6th printing, 1993), p. 150.
1736PH018. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Patrick Henry. January 8, 1799, in a letter to Archibald Blair. Moses Coit Tyler, Patrick Henry (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, and Co., 1893), p. 365. Stephen McDowell and Mark Beliles, "The Providential Perspective" (Charlottesville, VA: The Providence Foundation, P.O. Box 6759, Charlottesville, Va. 22906, January 1994), Vol. 9, No. 1, p. 5. Moses Coit Tyler, Patrick Henry (NY: Frederick Ungar Publishing Company), p. 365.
1736PH019. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Patrick Henry. 1799, in a letter to President John Adams. Norine Dickson Campbell, Patrick Henry-Patriot and Statesman (Old Greenwich, CT: Devin Adair, 1969, 1975), p. 417. John Eidsmoe, Christianity and The Constitution-The Faith of Our Founding Fathers (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1987), p. 314. 1736PH020. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Patrick Henry. Prof. Tyler, biography. Stephen Abbott Northrop, D.D., A Cloud of Witnesses (Portland, Oregon: American Heritage Ministries, 1987; Mantle Ministries, 228 Still Ridge, Bulverde, Texas), p. 227.
1736PH021. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Patrick Henry. November 20, 1798, in a Certified Copy of Last Will and Testament of Patrick Henry, Patrick Henry Memorial Foundation, Red Hill, Brookneal, Virginia. November 29, 1823, The Manchester Iris, a Weekly Literary and Scientific Miscellany, vol. II, p. 387. A complete transcription of the will may be found at the Red Hill Patrick Henry Memorial website. William Wirt Henry (grandson of Patrick Henry), editor, Patrick Henry: Life, Correspondence and Speeches (NY: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1891), Vol. II, p. 631. Moses Coit Tyler, Patrick Henry (NY: Frederick Ungar Publishing Company), p. 395. Tryon Edwards, D.D., The New Dictionary of Thoughts-A Cyclopedia of Quotations (Garden City, NY: Hanover House, 1852; revised and enlarged by C.H. Catrevas, Ralph Emerson Browns and Jonathan Edwards [descendent, along with Tryon, of Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758), president of Princeton], 1891; The Standard Book Company, 1955, 1963), p. 542. Norine Dickson Campbell, Patrick Henry: Patriot and Statesman (Greenwich, Connecticut: Devin-Adair Co., 1969), p. 428. John Eidsmoe, Christianity and The Constitution-The Faith of Our Founding Fathers (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1987), p. 315. M.E. Bradford, Religion & The Framers: The Biographical Evidence (Marlborough, NH: Plymouth Rock Foundation, 1991), pp. 4-5. Peter Marshall and David Manuel, The Glory of America (Bloomington, MN: Garborg's Heart'N Home, Inc., 1991), 11.20. D.P. Diffine, Ph.D., One Nation Under God-How Close a Separation? (Searcy, Arkansas: Harding University, Belden Center for Private Enterprise Education, 6th edition, 1992), p. 9. Last Will and Testament (20 November 1798), as quoted in Patrick Henry: Life, Correspondences and Speeches (1891) by William Wirt Henry, Vol. H, p. 631.
1736PH021. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Patrick Henry. Bishop William Meade, Old Churches, Ministers and Families of Virginia (Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1857), Vol. I, p. 221.
1736PH023. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Patrick Henry. In a letter written by Reverend Dresser on behalf of the Henry family. Bishop William Meade, Old Churches, Ministers and Families of Virginia (Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1857), Vol. II, p. 12.
1736PH026. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Patrick Henry. August 20, 1796, in a letter to his daughter Betsy. S.G. Arnold, The Life of Patrick Henry of Virginia (Auburn and Buffalo: Miller, Orton and Mulligan, 1854), p. 250. George Morgan, The True Patrick Henry (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1907), p. 366 n. Bishop William Meade, Old Churches, Ministers, and Families of Virginia (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1857), Vol. II, p. 12.
1736PH024. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Patrick Henry. William Wirt Henry, Patrick's grandson comments concerning his grandfather. William Wirt Henry, editor, Patrick Henry: Life, Correspondence and Speeches (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1891; reprinted NY: Burt Franklin, 1969), Vol. II, p. 621. Norine Dickson Campbell, Patrick Henry (Old Greenwich, CT: Devin-Adair Co., 1969), p. 415.
1736PH025. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Patrick Henry. Patrick Henry Fontaine, grandson, writing concerning his grandfather. John Eidsmoe, Christianity and the Constitution-The Faith of Our Founding Fathers (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, A Mott Media Book, 1987; 6th printing, 1993), p. 314.