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  • Essay / Liberty Anti-Federalist Papers Proposed by Patrick Henry

    It is March 23, 1775, and the Second Virginia Convention is meeting at St. John's Church. A man named Patrick Henry, an Anti-Federalist, was called upon to propose his resolutions to create a militia, or army, in which Virginia would have a defense. His resolutions turn into evocative speeches, sparking unwavering curiosity and a call to action. Henry's resolutions to obtain a militia were adopted by the Second Virginia Convention. After the Convention, the Battle of Lexington and Concord broke out, starting the American Revolutionary War. Patrick Henry, although heavily involved in the American Revolution, disagreed with the Founders over their desire to establish a strong central government, the ratification of the Constitution, and their failure to set limits on government power. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essay Patrick Henry's political career began in April 1760, when he passed his bar exams and began practicing the law. On May 20, 1765, he was elected to the Chamber of Burghers. Next, Henry helped establish the Virginia Committee of Correspondence in an effort to facilitate communication within the colonies. On September 5, 1774, Patrick Henry attended the First Continental Congress as a delegate for Virginia. And as previously stated, Patrick Henry gave a very famous speech called “Give me liberty or give me death” on March 23, 1775. His speech was intended to inspire the people of Virginia to fight against British tyranny. Some settlers, like Patrick Henry's, aimed to end "benign neglect," that is, the ability of a group of people to ignore a situation that obviously needs to change. Henry sought to stop the establishment of things like that of the Stamp Act, which was a tax imposed by Britain on colonists for every piece of paper they used. Patrick Henry intervened in favor of change, greatly supporting the ideas contained in the articles. of the Confederation and sought to strengthen their implementation and detail. It aimed to further explain the functions of a national government with the intention of moving away from a strong government public. Henry was an Anti-Federalist, meaning a person opposed to ratifying the Constitution or a person who does not like the idea of ​​establishing a federal government. When Henry was asked why he did not support ratification of the constitution, Henry replied, "I smelled a rat." Patrick Henry openly expressed his opinions and sought the need for personal freedoms, things he found important to avoid being a monarchy like that of Great Britain but without becoming a strong central government, which Henry did not didn't want to either. Patrick Henry also widely supported establishing limits on government power, urging him to help ratify the first ten amendments to the Constitution. Henry used his influence to define his views and distrust of the developing government society. In the Anti-Federalist newspapers, which were works written to demonstrate the people's interest in the instruments contained in the Constitution. Patrick Henry wrote an article for the Anti-Federalist newspapers which stated: "Show me this time and this country when the rights and liberties of the people were founded on the sole chance that their leaders were good men, without consequent loss of liberty ! I say that the loss of the dearest privilege ever followed, with absolute certainty, each of these mad attempts. » (Bill ofRights Institute) Patrick Henry further expressed his dislike for the establishment of the Constitution by not attending the Constitutional Convention of 1787 with reasons such as "he feared that the meeting was a plot of the powerful to construct a strong central government of which they would be masters.” (Bill of Rights Institute) James Madison, one of the Founding Fathers, was familiar with disdain and "the leader of Virginia's Federalists, in promising the addition of a Bill of Rights to the Constitution once the document was approved." (Bill of Rights Institute) Virginia then became the tenth state to ratify the Constitution. Henry's remarks show his ideas about creating a strong central government. Henry's methods were all aimed at cementing his fear of past British tyranny. He did not want such an oppressive regime to continue. When Patrick Henry refused to attend the Constitutional Convention of 1787 because of his reservations about its ratification, George Washington sent him a copy of the Constitution, Henry is said to have responded, "I must lament that I cannot agree with the proposed Constitution. (Encyclopedia of Virginia) In Patrick Henry's speech, “Give me liberty or give me death,” he said “I know no way to judge of the future except by the past.” » (Colonial Williamsburg) His famous speech was heard by many in 1775, Patrick Henry's opinions were known. He believed that additional steps needed to be taken to provide Virginia with a militia, but overall he wanted to find a way to provide the colonies with a defense against their former governing corporation. Which is similar to other civilizations, throughout history the main goal to gain freedom was to not be controlled by a tyrant, this can be seen in Rome, Athens and even London under Anglo-Saxon influence. Henry's opposition to the founders on certain issues all are very consistent or logical over time. An interesting solution to avoid the governmental failures of Patrick Henry's past was to set limits on governmental power. Perhaps one of Henry's concerns about the Constitution was its enumerated powers, which spell out everything Congress is authorized to do, set forth in Section Eight, Article One. However, in a June 4, 1788, speech to the Virginia Convention, Henry said, “The States are the hallmarks and soul of a confederacy. If the States are not the agents of this compact, it must be one great consolidated national government, composed of the people of all the States. » (Red Hill) Perhaps Henry struggled with Section Ten of Article One of the Constitution which describes the distribution of equal liberties to all of society. Patrick Henry, in a speech on June 7, 1788, even said: “If your American leader is an ambitious and capable man, how easy it is for him to make himself absolute! » (Bill of Rights Institute) The prevention of a monarchy and tyranny became very important to Patrick Henry and even became his motivation for his political choices and his influence on others. One way, he believed, to preserve liberty was to put more governmental power in the hands of the states. Others may disagree with Patrick Henry's position on the limits of government power because of his respect for founding fathers like that of George Washington. In a speech delivered on June 3, 1788 to the Virginia Convention, Henry even declared: “I have the greatest respect for these gentlemen who formed the Convention, and, if some of them were not there, I I would express towards them some testimony of esteem. » Red Hill) Henry considered George Washington to be)