Patrick Henry gives colonist reason to fight back

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On March 23rd Patrick Henry, known to many as a great patriot, gave his speech on freedom at theVirginia Convention. The Convention was held inside St. Johns church in Richmond Virginia. After making it to the podium, he started off by telling the people that he was going to be brutally honest and he hoped no one would take offence to his arguments. Throughout his speech he urged the local militia to be prepared to fight the British if they were not going to listen to their demands. He told them that as colonist they faced either freedom or slavery. As Henry’s speech continued he became very passionate. His eyes were glaring and his face became very pale as he attempted to get his point across to everyone within the church. Judge Tucker described the scene saying, “Imagine that you had heard a voice as from heaven uttering the words, 'We must fight.' as the doom of Fate.” Henry continued his speech saying, “Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation?” By saying this, perhaps he was making the point that if the British wanted peace they would not have their warships ready. He emphasized this again when he said, “I ask gentlemen, sir, what means this martial array, if its purpose be not to force us to submission? Can gentlemen assign any other possible motive for it? ...No, sir, she has none. They are meant for us: they can be meant for no other.” It appeared that Henry had a lot of impact on the colonist with his speech. To some, their initial reaction was that Patrick Henry had gone too far. Many saw Henry as a radical when it comes to patriotism, thus a lot of the delegates believe that armed resistance is not necessary. Yet others said that they will continue to hope for peace and made the suggestion that America’s friends in the Parliament could eventually reverse the policies. He made the point that if they are not strong today when
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