Patrick Henry: Champion of Liberty

Patrick Henry: Champion of Liberty

This authoritative biography of Patrick Henryâ€”the underappreciated founding father best known for saying, â€œGive me liberty, or give me death!â€â€”restores him and his fellow Virginians to their seminal place in the story of American independence.

Born in 1736, Patrick Henry was an attorney and planter, and an outstanding orator in the movement for independence. A contemporary of Washington, Henry stood with John and Samuel Adams among the leaders of the colonial resistance to Great Britain that ultimately created the United States. The first governor of Virginia after independence, he was re-elected several times. After declining to attend the Constitutional Convention of 1787, Henry opposed the Constitution, arguing that it granted too much power to the central government. Although he denounced slavery as evil, like many other southern slave-owners he accepted its continuation. Henry pushed vigorously for the ten amendments to the new Constitution, and then supported Washington and national unity against the bitter party divisions of the 1790s. He was enormously influential in his time, but his accomplishments, other than his oratory, were subsequently all but forgotten. Kuklaâ€™s biography restores Henry and his Virginia compatriots to the front rank of advocates for American independence.

Jon Kukla has thoroughly researched Henryâ€™s life, even living on one of Henryâ€™s estates. He brings both newly discovered documents and new insights to the story of the patriot who played a central role in the movement to independence, the Revolution, the Constitutional era, and the early Republic. This book is an important contribution to our understanding of the nationâ€™s founding.

Country	USA
Author	Jon Kukla
Binding	Hardcover
Brand	Kukla Jon
EAN	9781439190814
Feature	Patrick Henry Champion of Liberty
ISBN	143919081X
Label	Simon & Schuster
Manufacturer	Simon & Schuster
NumberOfPages	560
PublicationDate	2017-07-04
Publisher	Simon & Schuster
ReleaseDate	2017-07-04
Studio	Simon & Schuster

Patrick Henry: Champion of Liberty

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