Patrick Henry: “Liberty or Death” Speech

( 1775 ) Commentary by Carl Rollyson, Baruch College, The City University of New York

Questions for Further Study

1. Compare Henry's “Liberty or Death” Speech with the resolution that Richard Henry Lee submitted to the Second Continental Congress on June 7, 1776. How did the Congress's deliberations coincide with Henry's stirring call for liberty?
2. Compare Henry's comments on the British Crown and his statements about liberty with those in the Declaration of Independence.
3. How did Henry's beliefs in liberty later clash with certain provisions of the U.S. Constitution? Why was it so difficult for him to accept the idea of a federal government? Why did he find the Articles of Confederation more satisfactory?

A drawing depicting Patrick Henry delivering his famous speech (Library of Congress)

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