not decide what people are going to be interested in first, and tells them only that. >> thank you very much for your time. >> harlow unger recounts the life of patrick henry, known for his declaration give me liberty or give me death. patrick and he was an early advocate of the decision to declare war against the british come at a critical voice against the size of the american government following the revolution. harlow unger spoke at redhill, the patrick henry memorial in brookneal, virginia. >> thank you very much ladies and gentlemen. it's an honor and really very exciting for me to be here at red hill. which, place at patrick henry called one of the most beautiful spots in america. anyone who wants to see real america should stop by red hill

and visit this great shrine to american liberty. a friend of mine asked me the other day, who decides the names of the founding fathers? and i decided i should. [laughter] that's because many historians limit the names of the founding fathers to the signers of the declaration of independence and the constitution. but by limiting those names to those signatories, they eliminate patrick henry. and that's what i think i should decide the names of the founding fathers, because unlike some historians, i put patrick henry at the top of the list of the founding fathers. i believe he is the most important of the founding fathers after george washington, alongside of or ahead of thomas jefferson, james madison, and even ben franklin. without patrick henry, i don't live there would've have been a

revolutionary war. or the united states of america. i believe we would have devolved into a country like canada. thomas jefferson himself, and he was no friend of henry's, thomas jefferson himself insisted that patrick henry gave the first impulse to the ball of the american revolution. and those our jefferson's words. if we wish to be free we must fight, patrick henry was the first american leader who dared utter those words. they were treasonous, enough to be hung, drawn and quartered by the british. his life so dear, a peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery, forbid almighty god, i know not what course others may take, but as for me everybody, give me

liberty or give me death. most americans know the seven last words of that speech, but few know what patrick and equipment by those words. and even fewer know anything else about the man himself. as i said, i believe patrick henry was the greatest of our founding fathers, after george washington. patrick henry sounded the first call for revolution and independence from britain. he was first to protest british government taxation without representation. and first to demand religious freedom. he was the first governor of virginia which declared independence from britain or the united states. and what americans today don't realize is that at the time of the american revolution virginia and was a america's most important state. its largest, its riches richest, and most heavily populated

state. it was huge. its borders stretch from chesapeake bay to the mississippi river valley, and northward beyond the great lakes. and its governors was north america most important, most civilian leader in the years before the constitution and the creation of a federal government. equivalent today of the governors of california, texas, pennsylvania, new york and massachusetts put together. he was the most powerful civilian leader. as urging his first governor, he saw to it history provided washington and his continental army with more financial and military aid than any other state. he helped washington win the war. it was henry who discovered the scandal behind the food shortages at valley forge and sent supplies to end the crisis. it was henry who uncovered and help thwart an attack of a group of ambitious officers to

overthrow washington as commander-in-chief and effect a reconciliation with britain. and it was henry who sent troops into the west to seize the illinois territory from the british, along with kentucky, ohio and indiana. that was not the continental army. that was henry's force. and it was henry who said virginia militiamen into north carolina and helped drive the british out of the carolinas. although he never fired a weapon himself, henry was one of the great heroes of the american revolution along with washington, lafayette, emanuel green and henry knox. and yet as i said, some historians often ignored this greatest of american heroes, this greatest of american patriots. which is why i wrote "lion of liberty." to restore patrick henry to his rightful place as one of the greatest of our founding fathers.

in some ways henry was actually a more notable founding father and even washington. washington fathered no children. henry fathered 18, who gave him 77 grandchildren of henry's friend said that he, not washington, is the real father of our country. [laughter] there are probably more than 100,000 henry descendents in the country today, enough to populate the entire city of gary, indiana. but henry was much, much more than a founding father. he was america's greatest courtroom lawyer. lord byron, the english poet who could only read henry speeches, called him that hamas cities at his age. john adams who did here in the state agreed. in the courtroom, he sliced opponent argument to shreds using ever rhetorical device he

could find or invent. humor, passion, hope, fear. on clear days he embraced the sunshine and lifted yours hearts. on grey daisy pointed to the clouds and rain and provoked jurors to tears began on stormy days he saw homeland of destruction in every thunderclap and every bolt of lightning, and called it the wrath of god. one opposing lawyer said that whenever henry rose to speak, although it might be ont on so trifling as subject as a summons, i was obliged to lay down my pen. i could not write a word until the speech was finished. in addition to oratory, and he was a mass of the law and legal tactics, and he combined that mastery with a great sense of

humor. in one case a young couple came to henry before he loping. the bride was only 18 which was under the age of consent at the time. and they told her to take her father's horse to the marriage and have her groom to be mount behind her on the horse. well, the county prosecutor wouldn't let this go by. took the youngsters to court. henry put the grow on the stand and asked, digital young man kidnapped you -- did your young man kidnapped you? she would like truthfully, no, sir. , i kidnapped him. [laughter] when the laughter ended, the judge to the case out of court. like many of our founding fathers, henry was a farmer. in his case he grew up in the piedmont hills of virginia. his father was a successful,

well-educated plan and justice of the peace. but young patrick had but one of his relatives called and version to study that seemed invincible. he harbored a mortal amity two books. he was disorderly in dress and gave no hint of possessing any intellectual gifts that could raise them above mediocrity, or even up to it. another more sympathetic relative called henry nothing less than a normal country boy. remarkably fun, fond of innocent fun. like most non-boys he loved to hunt, fish, and play the fiddle. sometime between childhood and manhood henry lost his love for books and his aversion to study.

although there weren't any schools in hill country, his his father and mother taught patrick and his brother to read, write and calculate. and his father, taught the boys latin, greek, french, mathematics, history, and science. his mother taught him fine literature and turned it into an avid lifelong reader. obviously brilliant and probably a genius, henry read the obviously in greek by the time he was 15, and mastered latin so well he could converse with educated europeans. many of them couldn't speak english but they all knew their latin. but he held onto his mountain ways, as a cherished birthright. he took his musket, with hunting all through his life. played his fiddle for fun and relaxation, friends and family throughout his life.

a deeply religious man, he never drank except an occasional small beer, which is what they called low alcohol beer. although someone told me that low alcohol beer was 5% to alcohol anyway. henry study law on his own, and in case after case he fooled opponents into underestimating his genius. by wearing humble, homemade farmers close and speaking in his own natural mountain twang. some judges and opposing lawyers, especially city lawyers, dismissed him as a yokel. but jurors invariably embraced him as one of their own, and inevitably found for his client. in his first important is called parsons cause, he defended local tobacco farmers who couldn't pay taxes to the anglican church after a series of drought had wiped out their crops.

everybody had to pay taxes to the anglican church, it was the established state religion. and he did make any difference whether you are an anglican or not. henry accuses the church and its clergy for abdicating its responsibilities to feed the hungry and clothe the naked. do they manifest their benevolence and holy zeal in the cause of religion and humanity? oh, no, gentlemen. these were people who would snatch the last slice of bread from the pressures can the last drop of milk from the widow and her orphaned child. the last bed, the last blanket from the woman. he lifted yours and yours, and angry. although the judge instructed them to find the farmers guilty of tax evasion, they awarded the

church only 1 penny. the farmers exploded into cheers and lifted henry onto their shoulders, carried him out into the square for triumphal march to his father-in-law's tavern across the way, where he did what he loved most, he picked up his fiddle and let the crown in country music and dance. is astonishing triumph over the church of england one in national and international fame, and election to the state legislature. and that's where and when he began his lifelong fight against taxation without representation, and against big government. although he was a lawyer, henry was also a farmer. like most farmers he believed that was the year yield is what a gift from god, a reward for his own sweat and toil. and that he owed not a grain of seed or a blade of grass to the

government or its tax collectors. virginia farmers believed the same thing, and they rallied around him when virginia became independent, they elected him the state's first governor. he went on to serve five terms. during his first three turns he provided george washington and the can't know army with the aid, military aid needed to win the war. after the war he surprised his enemies and friends alike by proposing to resume trade with britain and allow tory exiles to return to their old virginia homes. his opponents were furious, saying that if they came back they would overturn the american government. and they laughed at them. the quarrel is over. peace has returned and found a free people, let us have the

magnanimity to lay aside our antitheses and prejudices. the british are an enterprising moneyed people. they will buy the produce of our lands, and supply us with necessaries, too. to feed our infant manufacture manufacturers. afraid of them? to we who have laid the proud british lion atrophied now be afraid of his welts? the legislature voted in favor of both henry's proposals and the resumption of trade with britain which other states refuse to do, the resumption of trade with britain here in virginia and rich in virginia's economy to levels never before seen. in the americas. independence from britain left america's college and a loose-knit confederation of 13

sovereign states come independent nations. each of them free to govern itself as it's off it, but ready to unite with its neighbors against a common inning. the confederation congress was a debating society where representatives of the various states came to discuss mutual problems but it had no powers. and no pressure raise in army, no powers to tax to pay an army if it raise one. they are bankrupt with no way of paying its outstanding wartime debts. some of those loungewear from foreign countries like france and some of it, a lot of it was back pay owed to continental army soldiers and officers. and george washington demanded that the states give congress taxing powers to raise the money and to pay the troops what it owed them. the states refuse to. after rebelling for more than 20

years against taxation by london's parliament, states were not about to grant those powers to an american congress. patrick henry led the oppositi opposition. as jefferson explained it, patrick henry oppose everything which may get influenced the congress and infringe on individual liberties, and that put them in opposition to any permanent national government tax. but what henry called liberty, washington called anarchy. across the nation riding for back pay, some states are ready to go to war over conflicting territorial claims. washington believe that only a strong government with a strong federal head could restore financial, political and social ties. and that put him and his good friend patrick henry in direct conflict. in 1786, three years after

britain had recognize our independence, and economic depression combined with a devastating drought to send foreign revenues plunging and tax delinquencies soaring. farmers took up arms to stop shares from seizing their properties for nonpayment of state property taxes. they burn down court houses, marched on state capitals to demand an end to property taxes, sound familiar? and and all property taxes and seizures of their properties. the confederation was disintegrating, and many revolutionary war days, calling for a stronger national government to control disorder. the confederation congress agreed, and called a national convention to strengthen congressional authority. that's all they were supposed to do. although washington and other leaders pleaded for patrick

henry to attend comic he refused. he was not going to do anything to build a federal government. and in his absence, the constitutional convention under washington's leadership staged what amount to a coup d'état, instead of strengthening the confederation, they dissolved it and wrote a new constitution that united the states under a new government that had most of the powers that americans have bought for seven years to overthrow. patrick henry was outraged. what right do they have to say we the people? who authorized them? the people gave them no power to use their name. that they exceeded their power is perfectly clear. the federal convention ought to have amended the old system, for this purpose they were solely

delegated. the object of their mission extended to no other consideration. has this new government stands, i despise. i speak as one for individual, but when i speak, i speak the language of thousands. 23 years ago i was supposed a traitor to my current you because i supported the rights of my country. i say now our privileges and rights are in danger. the new constitution needed approval of nine of the 13 former colonies to take effect, but even if 12 of them had approved it, the new government, and he probably would have been impotent without virginia. the richest and most powerful of the former colonies. when virginia's ratification convention assembled, patrick henry led the opposition.

the galleries were packed with farmers and hunters and trappers, a lot of them from kentucky and the west in buckskin. they were henry's people. they adored him and he adored them. here's a revolution as radical as that which separated us from great britain. the sovereignty of the states shall be relinquished. all pretensions to human rights are rendered insecure if not lost. is this relinquishment of rights worthy of freedom? no, they shouted from the galleries, and bank the butts of their muskets on the floor. hendry demanded that any new constitution contain a bill of rights to guarantee individual liberties, and amendments to limit government powers, federal government powers. he demanded that congress obtained the approval of two-thirds of the state legislature, legislatures before

any enacting any tax, any federal tax. and it was as angry as it ever been during the revolutionary war. a constitution is said to have beautiful features, but when i examine these features they appear to me trifle. where are your checks in this government? there are no checks and no real balances. they are based on the supposition that you're un-american governors shall be honest. show me that age and country with the rights and liberties of the people that were based on their rulers being honest men, and i'll show you a country that lost its liberties. if you're un-american she'd be a man of ambition and abilities, out easy it is for him to render himself absolute, the army is in

his hands. my objection to this government is it does not leave us the means of defending our rights or waging war against home-grown tyrants. henry lost his battle against ratification when james madison made a deal with a moderate antifederalists in exchange for their voting for ratification come he promised to push for passage of a bill of rights in the first congress, and he did it. then try to bridge the great divide between federalists and antifederalists, president george washington offered patrick and his choice of a number of key posts in the new government. secretary of state, appointment as u.s. senator, ambassadorshi ambassadorships, even chief justice of the supreme court. henry refused them all. and not because he was disloyal to either washington or the

nation. he revered washington and he loved his country. but a few men in those days could afford to go into federal public service so far from home. congressmen earned less than $10 a day and had to pay all their expenses. henry was a farmer and part-time lawyer who needed every penny he earned to support his gigantic family. as i said before, he fathered 18 children before he died, and these were not accidental births. henry loved his first wife, who died after bearing six of his children, and he adored his second wife who bore the rest of his children. anti-absolutely and totally, with his heart and all his heart and soul of adored every one of these children. he couldn't eat enough of them. he loved playing with them, telling them stories, strutting about playing his fiddle while they sang and danced and jumped about in circles around him.

utah's boys to ride, fish and hunt. when they were small they start writing on his horse. one boy sitting behind him and another in front of him. friends went into his house many times and found him in the words of one, lying on the floor with a group of little ones climbing over him in every direction, or dancing around in. to the tune of his violin. the only contest seemed to be who could make them more noise, the children are the father. henry was wonderful with children. he was a wonderful man, a kind man, didn't drink, didn't curse, went to church regularly, who believes deeply in god and righteousness, in the goodness of man, and in justice. and justice is what patrick henry sought to achieve throughout his life, justice for himself, his family, his neighbors, his state, his

nation. justice for all. which brings me to the question of slavery. the question that many americans and most europeans i've ever met completely misunderstand. even many historians insist on calling slavery an american institution. slavery was not an american institution. it was spanish, french and english, and we inherited it from them. in the early 1700s before the founding fathers were born, 50 years before george washington was born, in the early 1700s virginians voted to ban slavery. but the british government, queen anne, overruled them because the treasury dependent on revenues from british slave traders. at the time for only 25,000 slaves in virginia. all the slaves had been shipped

to the sugar islands of the caribbean to cocaine. then at that time -- to grow cane. in the next half century virginia as many appeals to end slavery importation's brought nothing but rejections by the three successive king george's. by 1770, more africans had crossed the atlantic than europeans, albeit voluntarily. and virginia's slave population grew almost eightfold to nearly 200,000. the slavery issue that our founding fathers inherited had grown insoluble. henry himself limited to we export them now is impracticable. ironically, the increase in the slave population grew to more of

a burden than a benefit to tobacco, to virginia's tobacco planters. remember, slaves couldn't speak english when they arrived. they were illiterate. most of them were unskilled. slaves had fewer incentives to work than peace workers up north. and as they fathered children were aged, they add enormous numbers of nonproductive, intense and infirm elderly to the population, that the planters still had to support. almost one-third of george washington's nearly 300 slaves at mount vernon were nonproductive. but washington still had house, clothe and feed them. there is not enough living, washington said. these are his words, there is not a man living who wishes more

sincerely than i do to see a plan adopted for the abolition of slavery in this country. it is an evil that requires a remedy. like washington and henry most virginian tobacco planters favored ending slavery but had no practical way to do so. straightforward abolition would have been as cool as perpetuation of their bondage. to set nearly 200,000 mostly unskilled and illiterate, semi literate people, one-third of them children, an equal number of crippled and elderly, men and women, to set them loose was unthinkable. where would they go? what would they do? how would they eat? house themselves, the urbanized north had relatively few slaves and offered an array of apprenticeships and craft shops and manufacturers in villages, towns, cities to in part a range

of skills to free slaves. the south was a land of vast plantations, one after another, the road out of one plantation led to the beginning of the next. there were no towns and villages. the only available work was for field hands. although he owned, 75 slaves at one time, patrick henry was one of virginia's most outspoken opponents of slavery. he never bought or sold a slave. and once he owns with the slaves of the other founding fathers, they were attached to the farms they bought. him as governor, patrick henry sought to ban slavery, proposed legislation to ban it. legislature refused. the conflict of his moral opposition to slavery and its ownership of slaves tour of his heart and soul throughout his

life. he was a very close friend of the quakers. he fought for their religious freedom as he did for the baptists. and he became a very good friend of the quaker leader, mr. pleasants, and he wrote this very sad letter. would anyone believe i am the master of slaves? i will not, i cannot justify. is it not amazing in that country above all of us fond of liberty, and in such an age in such a country, that we find men professing religion, the most humane, mild, meek and generous adopting a principle as repugnant to humanity as it is consistent with the bible and instructed to liberty. i believe a time will come when an opportunity will be offered to abolish this lamentable, if

we cannot produce this wish for reformation let us treat the unhappy victims with linda d. and pity for their unhappy lives. it is the furthest advance we can now make toward justice. as i said earlier, henry believed deeply in justice. and that's why he opposed big national government so vehemently. when he called for liberty or death, he was calling for liberty from all government oppression, american as well as british. he believed that the government by its very nature was unjust because of its distance from the people whose lives it touched. he believed that only those who lived, worked and owned property should determine the needs of the people in the community and the amount of taxes they should pay which is why he opposed ratification of the constitution.

he predicted that the failure of the constitution to fully protect individual rights and states rights, and its failure to limit federal government powers to tax and wage war would restore the very tyranny that had provoked the revolution against britain. unfortunately, his struggle for state rights so the seeds of secession and eventually the civil war which in turn, ironically, provoked the growth of a large federal government that he so despised. although the first congress used some of henry's demands for protection of some individual liberties, and rejected his demands to impose strict limits on federal powers and to safeguard state sovereignty. within months of taking office, that first congress enacted a national tax without the consent of the state legislatures, as

parliament had done in 1775 stamp act. then in 1794 president president washington fulfill henry's prophecy of presidential tyranny by sending troops into pennsylvania to suppress protests against federal taxation, just as king george and his prime minister lord north had done in boston in 1774. many called henry a profit at the time. since then a succession of presidents have led the united states and to undeclared wars the consent of congress, as henry predicted. and congress has enacted hundreds of laws and impose dozens of taxes that have extended government intrusion into every area of american lives and homes. again, as henry predicted. even george washington and

alexander hamilton would be appalled at the extent to which government has intruded in the lives of americans today. for better or for worse, government today is in our bedrooms, our bathrooms, living rooms, dining rooms, our kitchens, garages, tool sheds ,-comcome in our workplaces, our cars, trains and planes, in the food we eat, water we drink, the air we breathe, and our lakes and streams, our mountains, our skies, and the ground beneath us. the hands of government too often, the hands of corrupt officials reach into our pockets for more tax and dollars every day during our lifetimes, even after our deaths. more than two centuries ago patrick henry warned americans against every one of these government intrusions.

if i'm asked what is to be done when the people feel themselves and target oppressed, my answer is, overturn the government, any constitutional way. as we saw in the recent elections, a lot of americans still agree with patrick henry. patrick henry died here at his home in red hill at the age of 63, in 1799, at the roar of the lion still echoes across our land. if we wish to be free, we must fight, and we must vote. thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. [applause] >> thank you. thank you. spent i think you will take

questions now spirit indeed. >> is it necessary for the microphone to come before the audience? we are all right? okay. >> i will answer any questions whose answers i know. [laughter] [inaudible] >> i forget the year, but then especially in this area people began to sort of tragic and almost breeding slaves to sell to the ready market and the south. >> that began to happen after the transition of the economy from a tobacco economy into a cotton economy. cotton economy opened the door to all sorts of abuses of slaves because it didn't take any skills to plant and harvest

cotton. >> i guess my question has to do with the former home where the owner was a friend of henry's, and yet he was very much involved in this trade. it's almost certain like an evil place. how could he be so marvel about, and then he and the nl actually did the roanoke company, slays to dig out rock so that tobacco could get down the river. it's certainly a conflict of what he believed that he was conflicted all of his life with slays. of what was deal about them. turn them loose? what would they do. where would they go, how would

each? do they have jobs. they were fed well, close well, housed. i do know if you visit the slave cabin out here, all their needs were fulfilled. they had days off each week at most plantations of slaves became family retainers. at the washington home in mount vernon, washington train almost all of his male slaves in various crafts, carpentry, roofing, farming, by the time he died and he freed on the slaves in his will, by the time he died four of the five farms had slaves as overseers. and martha by the way trained a

lot of girls, seamstresses, to do all the things that women did in the household those days. not anymore. any other questions? yes, sir. >> regarding ratification, housetrained was the relationship between washington and henry? they had been close friends before. how did not strain their -- >> it basically, it ended their closeness. they never lost respect for each other. this was a debate in which i think the intelligent people on both sides of the debate realize there were a lot of right and a lot of wrong to both arguments. even patrick henry agreed that the articles of confederation

and the old confederation congress needed strengthening. there have to be a way to pay back congressional debts, not what he wanted to see done was what the confederation congress had asked the constitutional convention to do, to render the constitutional of the confederation adequate to the constituencies of the union. and what henry, a proposal henry supported was to give congress eight limited powers, limited by time in manila, powers to impose 5% duty on imports, which would affect anybody who bought imports, and that tended to be the rich rather than the poor, and give that for five years and renewable so they would have some source of money to pay their debts, number one. and never to come if they need to a cash that they needed to do so, to raise an army if attacked

by a foreign enemy. so he was for the and he was for it in congress the right to regulate international trade and trade between the colonies, between the state. remember, these were independent states. and the reason for that, our trade was deteriorating under the confederation because foreign powers, france, nations that were friends of ours had to negotiate a different tree with each one of these independent states. and he just got tired of it, and it did work out because even if they had to say a trade agreement with new jersey, the goods had to go through new york or philadelphia, in new york state or pennsylvania would charged duties on it. and in the end it would affect the economy of new jersey. so he was in favor of those three things, but that was it. he saw no reason for the federal

government to intrude on state sovereignty. >> at the first state conventions to decide, to have the constitutional convention, and i remember reading i think in virginia that passed narrowly come at some of the other states is very close to and i wonder once they got to the constitutional convention, how close was the voting? >> the constitutional convention came first and that was to approve the language of the constitution. and that was pretty overwhelmingly vote in favor, but it was not by unanimous consent as it says in the document. george mason and, george mason of virginia, and edmund randolph who was then governor of virginia refused to sign it.

and mason said he would rather have his right hand cut off then you sign a document. so there was a good deal of opposition at the constitutional convention. then the problem was that the election of the members of the state ratification conventions, and first of all, only white male landowners could serve in office, or vote. so that limited the vote. and in the case of pennsylvania, none of the small farmers had any representation at the constitutional convention. these were all very wealthy bankers from philadelphia. and patrick henry pointed that out, that people in pennsylvania were robbed. they had no say at the constitutional convention, and in the final