Second Virginia Convention: Patrick Henry

On March 20th, 1775, Patrick Henry gave his notorious speech at the Second Virginia Convention in Richmond. His speech was influenced by his passion for liberty and his hatred for his tyrannical colonizers, in response to a brewing war between the thirteen colonies and the British Empire. On the cusp of a large-scale war, Patrick Henry protested remaining idle while a peace petition was made, and made it clear that war was inevitable when he said: “Gentleman may cry, Peace, peace, but there is no peace. The war is actually begun!”. Patrick Henry was well aware that reconciliation wasn’t a plausible course of action, and made it clear to his peers at the convention that he was prepared to die during the looming maelstrom of violence and rebellion.

It can be assumed that the majority of the population of the thirteen colonies were raised under particularly tough conditions; given the environment, helping them have the second-hand ability to adopt heavy responsibilities. This value was capitalized by Patrick Henry when he called his peers to arms against their seemingly oppressive overlords. In a society where truly fighting for what you believed in wasn’t unheard of, it was wise of Henry to utilize this inherent virtue present in the ethics of the American colonies. On top of employing the rampant courage and bravery native to the populous, Henry exploited the pathological need to remain free. His famous quote: “Give me liberty, or give me death!”, is a derivative of the intense emotional tactics he used in his speech. The way Henry dramatizes his speech by saying that death is preferable to subjugation sparks an emotional need to preserve freedom in the listener. Towards the end of the speech, Henry tempers his emotional and vehement speech with a logically sound ultimatum that refers to historically similar occurrences of what happens when constituents avoid what Henry is warning them of. He implies that reconciliation has been the preferred tactic for the prior decade, and the situation has only worsened. The listener of the speech, already moved by his intense passion for liberty, has no choice but to agree and sympathize with Henry after he has concluded his fervent speech with undeniable reasoning. Henry’s combination of strong emotional dampening, virtue signaling, and logical oration is what propped him up to sit on the pedestal of venerable persuasion.

Although this speech was not given in front of professional delegates and not in front of a bustling crowd at a rally at the capitol, the appeal to ordinary citizens not affiliated with the delegation at the church was evidently inexplicable. Edward Carrington, a soldier, and statesman was so moved by Henry’s oration that he made it his wish to be buried in the very spot that he heard the speech, outside of the church window. The response from listeners of the speech is evidenced enough of its avidity of it, and the fact that the address resonated so profoundly with people who weren’t even the target of the effusion attests to the purity of the stance Henry took when he gave the speech. To have such intense rhetoric while giving a speech shows that Henry’s stance was completely unadulterated and was brought about by his yearning to see America succeed, and although the speech wasn’t given directly towards the population, it’s the message was heard across and resonated with people across the country. The tone, purpose, and stance of the speech is all rooted in Henry’s desire to protect the well-being of his compatriots.

Although he is not typically regarded as one of the most influential orators, Patrick Henry’s speech at the Second Virginia Convention was the embodiment of America’s societal rhetoric during the time period, whose speech fueled the colony’s lust for freedom and rebellion. His method of perfectly imbuing ethical calls, emotional persuasion, and objective reasoning creates a powerful argument that is almost impossible to argue with, which is why it’s rhetoric was adapted to give purpose to the colonists who rebelled against their oppressors.