Speech to the Second Virginia Convention

Patrick Henry, an orator who led the American independence movement in the 1770s, delivered this speech on March 23, 1775. It is a call to action for those who were assembled at the Second Virginia Convention, a meeting of political leaders in Virginia. The meeting was convened to strategize during the ongoing conflict with the British Crown. Anticipating an inevitable war, Henry tried to rouse the delegates into mobilizing. This guide refers to the rendition of the speech maintained by Yale University’s Avalon Project.

The Virginia conventions that gathered before the American Revolution consisted of influential men in the Virginia Colony. This second meeting followed the arrival of the British Navy in the waters off of Virginia’s shore and the delivery of a petition from the colony to remove them. This delegation met in Richmond, Virginia.

The speech is five paragraphs long. In the first paragraph, Henry compliments his fellow delegates for their “patriotism, as well as abilities” but also says that he is about to voice a different point of view in the matter of confronting Great Britain. He establishes that the stakes of this debate are high. He characterizes the situation as “nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery” (Paragraph 1). For these reasons, he assures his audience that his incendiary remarks are meant to serve the country and promote their freedom, not offend.

In the second paragraph, Henry says that while hope is a natural instinct, to ignore the “whole truth” of their situation puts all of the colonists in danger of facing irreversible British tyranny (Paragraph 2). The colonists should not hold out hope that Britain will respond to colonial pleas for reform, even though such a peaceful resolution is what everyone wants.

It is in the third paragraph that Henry articulates the bulk of his persuasive argument. He declares that “the conduct of the British ministry for the last ten years” has continually proven to be tyrannical (Paragraph 3). It has been oppressive and unwilling to respond meaningfully to colonial grievances; Henry implores his audience not to delude themselves into thinking that their most recent petition will receive a genuine and just response. He says that the colonists have already done everything they could have to steer negotiations toward peaceful reconciliation, but they can no longer take such a passive and cooperative strategy: “Sir, we have done everything that could be done to avert the storm which is now coming on,” Henry says (Paragraph 3). That “storm” is war, and Henry insists that it is already upon them because the British have a naval and armed presence in the colonies that “can be meant for no other” but the colonists themselves (Paragraph 3). Henry insists, “We must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight!” (Paragraph 3). This is the direct call-to-action in the speech.

The fourth paragraph is motivational. Henry insists that the colonists can act from a position of strength as they mobilize for war. Henry insists that God will intervene on their behalf rather than that of the British monarchy, for the colonists’ cause is just.

The final paragraph is short but contains the most famous line from the speech. Henry repeats that there is no hope for peace—that the war has already started because of British aggression—and that the colonists must act. He concludes: “I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!” (Paragraph 5). Henry is insisting that he is willing to die for liberty and is trying to entice the other men to see that such a sacrifice is worth it.