I can recall a time after High School, when I could sort of remember the name of Patrick Henry. I even knew that he gave a monumental talk at some point in his life where he said the words: “Give me liberty . . . or give me death!”

I didn’t know when he gave that speech, or where it occurred. But I seemed to think it was sometime around the Civil War period. As you can guess, history was not my favorite subject in High School.

Then in 1976, yes, 1976, as a young attorney, I was elected to represent a Phoenix Mayor’s committee at a National Convention of Citizens Crime Commissions, to be held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that year. For those of you who weren’t around then, that was our Nation’s Bi-centennial celebration of the adoption of our Declaration of Independence.

The convention was held at the Philadelphia Belleview Stratford Hotel, in November, 1976. (That was the year that a Legionnaire’s disease breakout occurred for the 1st time, killing several people, and it began at that hotel just a few months prior to my visit!) Whew, scary!

During my visit, I had the time and opportunity to visit several historical landmarks around the city. One of them was the Graff House. I bet you never heard of that. It was where Thomas Jefferson stayed, renting the upstairs suite of 2 rooms, when he was in Philadelphia for the Continental Congress. It was in those rooms where Tom wrote his draft of the Declaration of Independence, without book or pamphlet. Just relying on his knowledge as a young attorney!

I was so impressed by that visit, that I began studying the life of Thomas Jefferson. Well, you can’t learn much about Thomas Jefferson without learning about his close friend, Patrick Henry! And George Washington. And John Adams. And Benjamin Franklin. And James Madison. All of them were involved, heavily in creating our new Nation!

What a journey that has been for me, to learn about all these fascinating Founding Fathers. I had to keep reading, studying, and learning about these men.

Anyway, what I was going to tell you, is that Patrick Henry is a captivating person in his own right. His story is amazing. Just some tidbits: He was elected the 1st Governor of the new State of Virginia on July 5, 1776, he was re-elected 5 times (the last time he was elected, he died before he began to serve), he was married twice and had 17 children! He was a close friend of Thomas Jefferson, before they became disenchanted with each other during the Revolutionary War, he voted against adoption of the U.S. Constitution, he died at Red Hill, Virginia at the age of 63, just a few months before the death of George Washington.

Now really, don’t you want to know more about Patrick Henry? Discover more in my book, “Founding Fathers—Uncommon Heroes”.

Let me just leave you with one more quote from this great man, in the speech he gave to win him his last election as Governor:

“If I am asked what is to be done when a people feel themselves intolerably oppressed, my answer is ready—overturn the Government!

But do not, I beseech you, carry matters to this length without provocation. Wait at least until some infringement is made upon your rights, and which cannot otherwise be redressed. For if you ever recur to another change, you may bid adieu to representative government. You can never change the present government but for a monarchy! (as quoted in “Founding Fathers—Uncommon Heroes” by yours truly).