Patrick Henry

Patrick Henry was born May 29, 1736 and died June 6, 179, he was an orator and politician who hes best known for his "Give me Liberty, or give me Death!" speech. He is remembered as one of the most influential exponents of Republicanism. Henry was a leader of the anti-federalists in Virginia who opposed the United States Constitution. Patrick Henry proclaimed that a king who would veto a good and necessary law made by a locally elected representative body was not a father to his people but "a tyrant who forfeits the allegiance of his subjects." Henry served in the Virginia House of Burgesses; he was a member of the Virginia committee of Correspondence, a delegate to the Virginia Convention, and a delegate to the Virginia Constitution Ratification Convention. In 1774 and 1775 he was a delegate to the Continental Congress and served on three of its most important committees: the one colonial trade and manufactures, the one for drawing up an address to the king, and the one for stating the rights of the colonies. As governor he gave Washington able support and sent out the expedition under George Rogers Clark into the Illinois country. In 1778 he was chosen a delegate to Congress. From 1780 to 1784 and from 1787 to 1790 he was again a member of his State legislature; and from 1784 to 1786 was again governor. When he was chosen as a delegate to the Philadelphia constitutional convention of 1787, he had become cold in the cause and declined to serve. Henry also declined nominations from George Washington to become his secretary of state or the chief justice of the Supreme Court. He later served briefly as a U.S. senator and for many years as a Virginia state legislator. By the late 1790s Henry was a supporter of the Federalist policies of Washington and his successor, John Adams. He died age 64.

Tensions Between the Colonists and the British

Differences in Colonial Government

    Having difference of the government with the Colonist and the British brings future problems. Some differences are: that the British constitution was not a formal document it was more as a collection of laws and a tradition of many years and in the another side the Colonist were spelled out in a formal legal document such as a royal chart like Mayland, they also have informal agreements as Mayflower. In addition 2/3 of the Colonial men have the requierments to vote, and British men were only 1/4, making this a small amount of people that really could state their opinion by voting and in the Colony they were more people that express their desicions. In a certain way this comes together with the final problem.

    In the end of the 7 years war the British had 10,000 troops in North America at the end of the French and Indian War. The British felt they had, and were, spending a great deal of money to defend the colonies. These massive forces were needed to protect the Colonists from Indian attacks. By war's end, the British found themselves in debt to the tune of 140 million pounds, an enormous sum for those times. The British tried to address both their problems: governing and protecting the Colonists, as well as, keeping their costs down. The British official hope to change situationby taxting the Colonist and raise money by pay all the dept. Making the Colonist angry.

   The Colonist got angry because they have different ideas on the Government. The Colonist believed that they were all equal and they should be part in what taxes to pay. When the parlament tried to leived taxes on the Colonist mayor problems were created. Colonist believe that only their own elected officials had the right to leived taxes on them.They wanted to pay only the taxes they want  and to make their own laws. All this gives a contribution to the American Revolution.