Three years ago I wrote about what a spine-tingling feeling it was to attend a recreation of Patrick Henry’s fiery “Give me liberty, or give me death” speech in the place where he actually gave it: St. John’s Episcopal Church in Richmond, Virginia. St. John’s, built in 1741 on a high hill with a grand view of the James River, is still a functioning church today.
But on Sunday, March 23, St. John’s presented a special recreation of the Second Virginia Convention on the very day, 250 years ago, that Henry tried to convince Virginians to form an armed militia to defend their liberty and prepare for war against a tyrannical monarchy.
Why Richmond instead of Williamsburg, the colonial capital? So British troops could not get to the convention in time to arrest everyone attending.
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Henry’s resolution was disapproved despite his eloquence and support from prominent Virginians like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, but he was proven right. Less than a month later on April 19, the first shots of the Revolutionary War were fired at Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts, the “shot heard ‘round the world.” America was at war.
Those delegates, Henry, Jefferson, and Washington, have often been referred to as the voice, the pen, and the sword of the American Revolution.
Lest we forget, it was a militia company of 70 ordinary American citizens, farmers, and tradesmen—not trained soldiers—led by Captain John Parker who stood up three weeks later to 700 regulars of the most experienced, most dangerous military force in the world—the British Army.
There were special speakers at the church on Sunday in addition to a long line of families there to witness an important slice of American history. They included Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and award-winning filmmaker Ken Burns.
Unfortunately, there was also a horde of rude, uncivil protesters not only on the streets outside the church, but actually infesting the sacred grounds of the church with some of the dumbest protest signs I have seen, going after Donald Trump—who wasn’t there—and otherwise saying things like “Morons are Governing America” and “Deport Trump.” The only morons I saw at the church were the ones carrying the signs. They really were pathetic. But their antics clearly revealed their opinion of the almost 80 million Americans who voted for the man they want deported.
Quite a contrast, too. They want the president elected by the American people deported but not the criminal illegal aliens and gangbangers who have been killing, kidnapping, assaulting, and otherwise victimizing us, aided and abetted by the political party the protesters obviously support.
The most historically inapt protester there was the one carrying an anti-gun sign. Apparently, he failed to realize that the only reason he could be there protesting was because of the guns used by Americans to defy the British Empire and fight for their liberty.
In fact, the debate that led to Henry’s fiery oration was over a resolution he introduced to go forward with Virginians arming and organizing to protect themselves from the tyranny of the royal government and military occupation. Henry’s resolution said that “a well-regulated militia is the natural strength and only security of a free government” and was “at this time, peculiarly necessary for the protection and defense of the country.”
If those words sound familiar, they should. Much of that same language ended up in the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
It tells you a lot about the protesters that they would inject politics into an event celebrating a great patriot, and that they did not hesitate to invade the grounds of a church to carry on with their ridiculous display. They were trying to ruin a historical remembrance that folks standing in line—many with young children—were there to experience. We were there regardless of our politics, and the protesters tried to poison that experience with partisanship and incivility.
Fortunately for us, the speakers concentrated on setting the stage for what the audience was witnessing. The first Continental Congress had met in Philadelphia in October of 1774. Henry had attended as one of the leading Virginia statesmen. In a letter to Jefferson about that meeting, John Adams said Henry was the only attendee who “had the candor and courage to acknowledge” the dire situations faced by the colonies.
The British government had imposed a series of taxes and restrictions on Americans, including the Stamp Act, Sugar Act, Townshend Acts, and Intolerable Acts, which the colonists believed violated their rights and their idea of self-government. These acts led to many acts of defiance, including the Boston Tea Party on Dec. 16, 1773, which resulted in the British navy closing Boston as a port and blockading it in March 1774.
Henry’s words inside St. John’s 250 years ago were so influential that, as related by the St. John’s Foundation that is dedicated to preserving the church: “American soldiers of the Revolutionary War marched into battle carrying ‘Liberty or Death’ flags.”
Henry went on to become the first elected governor of the Commonwealth, serving five terms. He helped draft the state’s constitution and the Virginia Declaration of Rights. Along with Virginian George Mason, he was a leading critic of the U.S. Constitution and the powerful federal government he feared it would create. He was one of the reasons that the Bill of Rights was added to ensure ratification.
Overall, it was a great day to be in Richmond on the 250th anniversary of Henry’s speech. Despite their attempt at disruption, the pathetic protesters just looked foolish. If they thought they would persuade anyone there to support them, they did the exact opposite by rudely injecting rancorous politics into a celebration of American patriotism.
Youngkin did have the funniest line of the day. Speaking of the “visitors” outside, who started yelling and screaming at him when he left the church, he said he was happy to participate in anything that “got more people to attend church.”
Henry would have laughed at that. And at the end of this Virginia Convention, the delegates—the audience—voted in favor of his resolution.
Henry wisely said at the end of his oration, “The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave.”
The American people continue to be vigilant, active, and brave in protecting their liberties and freedoms.
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