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I am not a Virginian, I am an American.

Patrick Henry

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Patrick Henry
Age: 63 †
Born: 1736
Born: May 29
Died: 1799
Died: June 6
Governor Of Virginia
Lawyer
Politician
Slaveholder
Hanover County
Virginia
Henry
Virginians
American

More quotes by Patrick Henry

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The great object is that every man be armed.
Patrick Henry
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Away with your president! We shall have a king... the army will salute him as monarch your militia will leave you and assist in making him king and fight against you. And what have you to oppose this force? What will then become of you and your rights?
Patrick Henry
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We have not yet begun to fight.
Patrick Henry
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We should transmit to posterity our abhorrence of slavery.
Patrick Henry
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Adversity toughens manhood, and the characteristic of the good or the great man is not that he has been exempt from the evils of life, but that he has surmounted them.
Patrick Henry
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Were my soul trembling on the wing of eternity, were this hand freezing to death, were my voice choking with the last struggle, I would still, with the last gasp of that voice, implore you to remember the truth: God has given America to be free.
Patrick Henry
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Suspicion is a virtue as long as its object is the public good, and as long as it stays within proper bounds. Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect every one who approaches that jewel.
Patrick Henry
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The whole economy of this lower world proves that it is by labor and perseverance only that good is obtained and evil is avoided.
Patrick Henry
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Fear is the passion of slaves.
Patrick Henry
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He that hath a blind conscience which sees nothing, a dead conscience which feels nothing, and a dumb conscience which says nothing, is in as miserable a condition as a man can be on this side of hell.
Patrick Henry
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I believe a time will come when an opportunity will be offered to abolish this lamentable evil.
Patrick Henry
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It is natural to man to indulge in the illusion of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, till she transforms us into beasts.
Patrick Henry
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For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth to know the worst and provide for it.
Patrick Henry
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Jealousy is the only vice that gives no pleasure
Patrick Henry
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Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot?
Patrick Henry
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The King has degenerated into a tyrant and forfeits all rights to his subjects' obedience.
Patrick Henry
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They tell us, sir, that we are weak unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house?
Patrick Henry
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Human nature will never part with power. Look for an example of a voluntary relinquishment of power from one end of the globe to another - you will find none.
Patrick Henry
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Bad men cannot make good citizens. A vitiated state of morals, a corrupted public conscience are incompatible with freedom.
Patrick Henry
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Being a Christian... is a character which I prize far above all this world has or can boast.
Patrick Henry