RamistThomist
Puritanboard Clerk
Patrick Henry\'s Rhetorical Beginnings
A while back I picked up a little biography of Patrick Henry (Give me Liberty, David Vaughn, Nahsville: Cumberland House). It is part of the "leaders in action" series. Granted, it is aimed for young high-schoolers, and I could devote myself to more scholarly work, but these books are good for inspiration (As an aside, I heartedly recommend the book in this series on Stonewall Jackson ). Here are some wonderful excerpts from this book:
Concerning Henry's peformance on "The Stamp Act Resolution":
Narrator: Judge John Tyler, who was standing next to Jefferson in the lobby of the House, recalled Henry's 'treason' speech):
Henry : Caesar had his Brutus; Charles the First, his Cromwell; and George the Third his--
Proto-Evangelicals and Proto-Neo-Cons: "Treason," shouted the 'Speaker' (of the House). "Treason, treason," rose from all sides of the room.
Narrator:The orator (Henry) paused in his stately defiance till these rude exclamations were ended and then, rearing himself with a look and bearing of still prouder and fiercer determination, he closed the sentence as to baffle his accusers, without the least flincihing from his own position,
Henry : "and if this be treason, make the most of it!" (p.53)..."
Commenting on "The Parson's Cause," Vaughn notes,
"The man and the hour had met" (p.45).
One of the great ironies of Henry was that we really do not know exactly what he said in many of his speeches. So thrilling were his words that his listeners were often to enthralled to write them down! Nevertheless, the general tenor is there and that will suffice.
[Edited on 5--18-05 by Draught Horse]
[Edited on 5--18-05 by Draught Horse]
A while back I picked up a little biography of Patrick Henry (Give me Liberty, David Vaughn, Nahsville: Cumberland House). It is part of the "leaders in action" series. Granted, it is aimed for young high-schoolers, and I could devote myself to more scholarly work, but these books are good for inspiration (As an aside, I heartedly recommend the book in this series on Stonewall Jackson ). Here are some wonderful excerpts from this book:
Concerning Henry's peformance on "The Stamp Act Resolution":
Narrator: Judge John Tyler, who was standing next to Jefferson in the lobby of the House, recalled Henry's 'treason' speech):
Henry : Caesar had his Brutus; Charles the First, his Cromwell; and George the Third his--
Proto-Evangelicals and Proto-Neo-Cons: "Treason," shouted the 'Speaker' (of the House). "Treason, treason," rose from all sides of the room.
Narrator:The orator (Henry) paused in his stately defiance till these rude exclamations were ended and then, rearing himself with a look and bearing of still prouder and fiercer determination, he closed the sentence as to baffle his accusers, without the least flincihing from his own position,
Henry : "and if this be treason, make the most of it!" (p.53)..."
Commenting on "The Parson's Cause," Vaughn notes,
"The man and the hour had met" (p.45).
One of the great ironies of Henry was that we really do not know exactly what he said in many of his speeches. So thrilling were his words that his listeners were often to enthralled to write them down! Nevertheless, the general tenor is there and that will suffice.
[Edited on 5--18-05 by Draught Horse]
[Edited on 5--18-05 by Draught Horse]