The year 2026 marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Cardinal News has embarked on a three-year project to tell the little-known stories of Virginia’s role in the march to independence. This project is supported, in part, by a grant from the Virginia American Revolution 250 Commission. Find all our stories from this project on the Cardinal 250 page. You can sign up for our monthly newsletter:
As tensions grew between the Colonies and Great Britain in the 1770s, Virginia held a series of meetings to organize its protests against the mother country. In March of 1775, the Second Virginia Convention was held at what was then called Henrico Parish Church, now Historic St. John’s Church, in Richmond. Patrick Henry was among the 120 delegates to the convention and on March 23, 1775, he embodied the spirit of the Revolution with his famous words, “Give me liberty or give me death!”
The National Constitution Center, in an article from 2017, ranked Patrick Henry’s speech as one of the ten greatest speeches in American history, along with Abraham Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address,” Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream!” and JFK’s first inaugural address. On March 23, 2025, Patrick Henry’s speech will celebrate its 250th anniversary, and the St. John’s Church Foundation, the nonprofit organization that preserves the historic site where the speech was delivered, is planning a series of celebrations to commemorate the speech that will make history lovers the world over proud. These celebrations will include three historical reenactments featuring nine costumed actors in 1700s costumes. The reenactments are sold out, but anyone can view the 1:30 p.m. reenactment at www.va250.org. That reenactment will include pre-reenactment introductory remarks by PBS documentarian Ken Burns and VA250 National Honorary Chair Carly Fiorina.
In thinking about the importance of Patrick Henry’s speech and its impact on the American Revolution, it’s important to consider the events that led to March 23, 1775. Following the Boston Tea Party of December 1773, which resulted in 342 chests of tea being thrown into the Boston Harbor, Great Britain passed the Coercive Acts, often referred to as the Intolerable Acts in the Colonies. The laws aimed to punish Massachusetts Colonists for their defiance in the Tea Party protest and included The Boston Port Act, passed by Parliament on March 31, 1774.
In May 1774, after Parliament closed Boston Harbor, the Virginia House of Burgesses, the legislative body of the Colony of Virginia, adopted resolutions in support of the Boston colonists. Virginia’s royal governor then retaliated against the burgesses by dissolving the assembly. The burgesses then reassembled on their own in a series of Virginia Conventions, with the first held in Williamsburg in August 1774.
St. John’s Church was chosen as site of the Second Virginia Convention because Richmond provided fifty miles of distance from Williamsburg and Virginia’s royal governor, Lord Dunmore. It was also one of the few buildings large enough to accommodate the 120 delegates who attended the convention, and the rector of the church, the Rev. Miles Selden, was sympathetic to the delegates’ cause.
Attendance at the Second Virginia Convention was high due to the critical state of relations with the mother country. The delegates came and went over the course of the convention, which lasted from March 20-27, 1775.
Delegates to the convention included George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Nelson, Benjamin Harrison, Edmund Pendleton, Robert Carter Nicholas, Richard Bland, and of course a young country lawyer, Patrick Henry, who represented Hanover County. Peyton Randolph was named the president of the convention.
On the fourth day of the convention, on March 23, Patrick Henry introduced three resolutions. The first stated “that a well regulated Militia composed of Gentlemen and Yeomen is the natural Strength and only Security of a free Government: that such a Militia in this Colony would forever render it unnecessary for the Mother Country to keep among us for the purpose of our Defense any standing Army of mercenary Forces, always subversive of the Quiet, and dangerous to the Liberties of the People; and would obviate the Pretext of taxing us for their Support.” Henry’s third resolution was the most daring. “Resolved therefore that this Colony be immediately put into a posture of defence. That a Committee be appointed to prepare a plan for embodying, arming, and disciplining such a number of men as may be sufficient for that purpose.”
Patrick Henry’s third resolution touched off a debate concerning whether it would be seen as a “prophesy of war.” After arguments were made, both for and against Henry’s resolution, Henry rose and delivered his “Give me liberty or give me death!” speech, outlining the interactions between the British ministry and the Colonials. Henry began by urging the delegates to examine the past behavior of the ministry and not to cloud their judgment with false hope. He argued that the Colonials had spent ten years petitioning and pleading with the ministry and Parliament to recognize their rights as Englishmen. Henry pleaded with the delegates to recognize that the presence of armies and navies was an act of hostility, not of reconciliation. He warned them that the time for action had arrived, that no matter how weak they perceived themselves to be, they would be even more vulnerable if disarmed and in the presence of the British army. Henry closed dramatically. “Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!” Henry’s speech was powerful and persuasive. A voice vote was taken, and Henry’s resolutions passed by a narrow margin.
The mission of the St. John’s Church Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is to spark a global appreciation for understanding the role that Patrick Henry’s “Give me liberty or give me death!” speech had in setting American on its path to liberty for all, and to ignite the public’s commitment for preserving the historic site where it happened.
It was at St. John’s Church where the spark of the American Revolution was ignited, just 27 days before the first shots were fired at Lexington and at Concord. On March 23, history will be made again as we commemorate the 250th anniversary of the speech. Tune in at www.va250.org on March 23 at 1:30 p.m. as we commemorate the speech and make history together.
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