Patrick Henry Speech In The Virginia Convention Essay Example

Date and context:

The Speech to Virginia Delegates was pronounced on Monday 23rd March 1775, by Patrick Henry at the Saint John’s Church in Richmond, in Virginia. The discourse was delivered a year after the dismissal of assembly of The House of Burgesses, as a punishment for supporting the Boston Colonists after the Boston Tea Party, by John Murray Lord of Dunmore on the order of King James I. The House of Burgesses was the legislative body of the Colony of Virginia, replaced by the Virginia Convention, by dissolving such a politic institution the Great Britain aimed to weaken the revolution and regulate the riot.

During March of the year 1775 the Virginia Convention was debating whether dispatching troops and by joining the revolutionary war more actively by fighting next to the other 12 colonies: Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maryland, Connecticut, Rhode Island, North and South Carolina, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Georgia.

Author:

The author of the document is Patrick Henry. Well known for remaining a Founding Father further the 1st Governor of Virginia, Henry was also a self-educated attorney, writer, colonialist, and politician from the Anti-federalist, Anti-Administration, and then Federalist, American Native of Virginia. 

Between 1774 and 1775, Patrick Henry served as the Delegate of the first likewise second Continental Congresses, a series of assemblies held by the 13 colonies to discuss action against Great Britain, which he helped drafting The Petition to the King. The Petition to the King is a petition submitted to persuade the King to annulate or reconsider, policies imposed to the colonies by the British Parliament.

Nature of the text:

The nature of the studied document is a political speech. We can organise the structure: 

• The two first paragraph are made to prepare the audience to receive and interpret the message/main ideas of the text.
• The third paragraph contain the main ideas.
• The fourth paragraph is silencing the questions and counterarguments.
• The last is here to rise emotional reactions and inspire empathy. We can also highlight that the formulation: “Give me liberty or give me death”, which amplify the patriotic spirit of the speech.

Recipients and audience:

The main target of the speech was The Virginia Conventions’ President Peyton Randolph and the members of the assembly.

Main ideas:

• The need of Colonist of Virginia to help the 12 other colonies, because Men are dying for the sake of their freedom and salvation. They need freeing themselves from Great Britain tyranny, as a God Will they are executing.
• They attempted everything to calmly protest such as petitioning but the Great Britain stay deaf at their tentative to “appease” tensions.
• Fighting is inevitable to be seen as singular individuals. “If we want to be free […] we must fight” l.43-46.

Aim/Purpose of the text:

The purpose of the text is to convince the Delegates to support the war, to fight back and to win back what have been stolen by Great Britain: their Freedom.