Patrick Henry Quotes
Caesar had his Brutus, Charles I his Cromwell, and George III may profit by their example. If that be treason, make the most of it.
When Henry came to “George II” he was interrupted by the Speaker, John Robinson, who shouted “Treason!” Henry had been railing against the Stamp Act.
Patrick Henry, 1736-1799, Member, Virginia House of Burgesses, Member of the Continental Congress, Governor of Virginia, Member, Virginia Constitutional Ratification Convention, Speech, Virginia’s House of Burgesses, May 20, 1765
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
Actually, these revolutionists were quite moderate and what they wanted was his abdication and for him to go to England but they used the fear of trial and beheading to induce him to leave rather than have a pitched battle. He did.
Many American colonists had relatives and friends in England, and Paine argued that American independence would help and not het the English people.
At that time the king not only called Parliament into session but terminated the session and set the agenda. In this case, Charles I didn't want royal activities regarding taxation to be debated much less legislated upon. As the speaker rose to leave the chair, he was forcibly held in place by two members as the house voted by acclamation to condemn the taxes and even the merchants who paid them. This was perhaps the first legislative tax revolt in history.
England had gone through a bloody Civil War with the Parliament on one side and the King on the other. The King lost and was beheaded later that year. See {597353}.
The king was found guilty and was decapitated, but not wearing a crown.
Some of the Patriots of Early America realized that the oppressions of British rule were coming from Parliament and initially took the position that only the King could make laws for the colonies and not Parliament. Therefore, they were as Englishmen challenging illegal English laws. Most American hostility was directed at Parliament and not the King. However, once there was any physical resistance, King George came down with such a heavy hand that American hatred transferred to him. For related quotes on the King/Parliament issue, see {639145}, {639144}, {639142}, {639141}, {639140}, & {639137}
In 1628 Parliament, in response to abuses by King Charles I, was about to pass The Petition of Rights–-a type of Bill of Rights. The King gave assurances that the practices—such as forcing nobles to lend him money—would not continue and didn't want to be embarrassed by passage of a law which he claimed would indicate that the Parliament did not trust him and weaken the dignity of the monarchy. The Petition of Rights passed with Cole’s leadership.
Prior to Cooke’s indictment of English King Charles I, there was a concept of Royal Impunity—that a sovereign could not legally be called to account for his actions as ruler of the state. The concept of “sovereign immunity” was a concept where the sovereign and his agents could be given immunity for specific actions, but they never would have impunity again where there were no limits to the crimes they might commit against their own people. Charles I refused to even recognize Cooke’s indictment and so have heads of state called to account for their major crimes since then all the way down to Saddam Hussein in 2006 who made the same argument. Cooke was himself hanged, drawn and quartered almost 20 years after the Charles I trial for his part in the “Regicide” so the concept of Royal Impunity did not die quickly.
He was acting as French Foreign Secretary at the time.
The Regicide of Charles I was still a very sensitive subject with Englishmen loyal to the King in the Colonial era. So this was an incredibly radical and incendiary statement for an American minister to make. However, he did acknowledge that a people had a right to have a king {634001} unlike Thomas Paine who did not—see {634004}.
The Continental Congress told each colony should establish its own republican government quickly so that the people did not have to depend on England for anything, and that the English Monarchy be opposed and supplanted anywhere where they wanted to exercise authority.
Patrick Henry was an American attorney, planter, politician, and orator best known for his declaration to the Second Virginia Convention (1775): "Give me liberty, or give me death!" A Founding Father, he served as the first and sixth post-colonial Governor of Virginia, from 1776 to 1779 and from 1784 to 1786.
