March 23, 1775 saw what revolutionary hero deliver his famous “give me liberty, or give me death!” speech at St. John’s church in Richmond, Virginia?
Give me liberty, or give me death! Give me liberty, or give me death! "Give me liberty, or give me death!" is a quotation attributed to Patrick Henry from a speech he made to the Second Virginia Convention on March 23, 1775, at St. John's Church in Richmond, Virginia. He is credited with having swung the balance in convincing the convention to pass a resolution delivering Virginian troops for the Revolutionary War. Among the delegates to the convention were future U.S. Presidents Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. The speech was not published until "The Port Folio" printed a version of it in 1816. The version of the
Give me liberty, or give me death! independence." There have been similar phrases used preceding Henry's speech. The play, "Cato, a Tragedy", was popular in the Colonies and well known by the Founding Fathers, who would quote from the play. George Washington had this play performed for the Continental Army at Valley Forge. It contains the line, "It is not now time to talk of aught/But chains or conquest, liberty or death" (Act II, Scene 4). The phrase "Liberty or Death" also appears on the Culpeper Minutemen flag of 1775.. In the opera Artemisia (1657) there is an aria called "Dammi morte o libertà" (lit:"Give me death