Patrick Henry: First Among Patriots

Publishers WeeklySG While Patrick Henry's words, "Give me liberty or give me death," urged fellow colonists toward revolution and shaped his own legacy in the annals of American history, as Baylor University historian Kidd (God of Liberty) points out in this lively portrait, Henry's greatest contribution to the young republic lay in his challenges to the Constitution, which he believed failed to preserve the ideals of liberty won in the Revolution. For Henry, the Revolution promised a return to the best kind of republic, a virtuous society with healthy and strong local governments. Kidd skillfully traces Henry's rise from a young farm boy in Virginia to a political figure whose passionate support of liberty won him the friendship of Washington, Jefferson, and Madison, among others.