Liberty or death were the choices that American colonists faced in the late 1700s. With the British in Boston and much of the leadership nervous and afraid, they weren’t sure what they could do. This stayed the case until Patrick Henry came along and campaigned hard to revolt against the tyranny of the British and to fight for their God given right of liberty (although this doctrine didn’t apply to slaves as they weren’t considered people). Henry was the right man who spoke with the right words that were delivered at the right time in order to incite revolution. he spoke boldly with his most memorable line being, “…give me liberty or give me death!” (this also functioned as his closing line). When this speech was delivered, it was during a convention in 1775 that was being held in Virginia. Assigned with deciding what they could do about the British, Henry lept up onto a table and told his audience how he felt and what he thought needed to happen. He got them riled up in a few different ways. The biggest would be his tone which was quite exclamatory and passionate. He asked a number of rhetorical questions aimed at getting the men in the room to think and consider how important quick and decisive action would be. After this, he went through a list of actions the group had taken so that war could be avoided, and by citing their failures, it showed them that maybe their only choice was to listen to Henry and go to war.
Henry desired liberty, and the only way he believed this could be achieved was by convincing the men in front of him that war was their only option. Henry was successful in this design because the war actually happened, and was notably won by these patriots who arguably were originally riled up and encouraged by Henry.
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