Patrick Henry : champion of liberty

Patrick Henry : champion of liberty

New York : Simon and Schuster, 2017.

xiv, 541 p., [8] p. of plates : ill., maps, ports. ; 25 cm.

923.273 H522kuk 2017

(OCoLC)951833413

"... An almost exact contemporary of Washington, Henry was an early advocate of independence, vigorously opposing the Stamp Act. Although historians have tended to focus on the revolutionary fervor in Boston, Jon Kukla shows how Henry and some of his fellow Virginians were indispensable to the independence movement. Henry was a delegate to the first Continental Congress and subsequently led the Virginia militia when it confronted the royal governor of Virginia. He was the first postcolonial governor of Virginia and would be reelected several times. In 1787 he declined to attend the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, concerned that the central government would limit states' rights. For this reason, he opposed the new Constitution. His opposition helped lead to the first ten amendments to the Constitution, which we know today as the Bill of Rights. Washington regarded Henry highly and wanted him to join his administration, but Henry retired from public life and died a few months before Washington. Despite his dedication to the cause of liberty, Henry, like his fellow Virginians, owned slaves to work his plantations. His concept of liberty was never broad enough to include them ..."--Book jacket.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 397-522) and index.
Contents: A serious loss -- Totopotomoy Creek -- Decade of misfortunes -- The Parsons' Cause -- Visit to Williamsburg -- Scandal and protest -- The Stamp Act -- Europeans or Africans? -- Organizing resistance -- Good and evil -- Hurrying toward a crisis -- Congress in Philadelphia -- Blows must decide -- Liberty or death -- Gunpowder -- Commander in Chief -- Norfolk destroyed -- A free and independent state -- Visitors at Scotchtown -- A war to win -- Making peace -- Governor again -- The new Constitution -- We the states -- Amendments and abolition -- For the defense -- Last call.
L2018M18

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