Patrick Henry was the fiery orator of the American Revolution whose speeches rallied colonists to independence. A self-taught Virginia lawyer, Henry first gained fame for the 'Parsons' Cause' case challenging British authority in 1763. His 1775 speech to the Virginia Convention—'Give me liberty, or give me death!'—became the Revolution's rallying cry.
Henry served as Virginia's first post-colonial governor and was instrumental in revolutionary politics. However, he opposed the Constitution as giving too much power to the federal government, becoming a leading Anti-Federalist. His demand for explicit protections of individual rights contributed to the Bill of Rights.
In later years, Henry's politics shifted conservative as he worried about democratic excess and supported the Federalists. He declined Washington's offers of cabinet positions and a Supreme Court seat. Henry represents the libertarian strain in American political thought—suspicious of concentrated power whether British or federal.