The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-10-27

price of chains and slavery? Forbid
it. Almighty GodI | know not what
course others may take, but as for
me. give me liberty, or give me death!'
Patrick Henry's individual declara
ton of war against Great Britain" as
Professor Tyler terms it, made a ire
mendous impression upon the country.
He had proclaimed openly what other
men of his position and influence had
whispered under their breath, and war
came, as he predicted, in less than a
month.
The Critical Period.
The war over, we approach what
Mr.. John Fislze calls 1.-The critical
period of American history" In 1777,
during the stress of war, our first form
of federal government had been de-
vised. The articles of confederation
provided a very weak national govern
ment and as soon as the war was
over the states, which had been held
together by the force of necessity as
they fronted a common enemy, began
to drift apart. Exhausted by d long
war, weighed down by heavy indebt-
edness, demoralized by bad money and
distracted by threatened rebellions. the
nation that had SO gloriouslv defended
its liberties against England was in
grave danger of dissolution through
civil strife. The statesmen began to
realize the necessity for a. more per-
feet union, and in May, 1887, there as
sembled in Philadelphia a body@ of
fifty-five men charged with the mo-
mentous task of revising the articles
of confederation. Patrick Henry was
not a. member of the Virginia delega-
ton. He refused the most urgent in
yitations to participate in the con-
vention, for he had come to feel that
there was danger that the proposed
revision would make the union SO
strong as to imperil the liberty of the
people of the states.
Opposition to the Constitution.
The possible opposition of the great
Virginia. leader to the ratification by
his state of the proposed constitution
was a. source of great anxiety to the
advocates of the stronger union, and
when the constitution was adopted by
the convention Washington sent him
a copy, with a. strong letter urging
his favorable consideration. Patrick
Henry replied: II have to lament that
cannot bring my mind to- accord with
the proposed constitution, The con-
Germ feel on this account is really
greater than / am able to- express
The Virginia convention to consider
the constitution was convened on June
q 1888. Madison, who is sometimes
called the father of the constitution,
In recognition of his great services in
the convention of 1857, led with con-
summate ability a strong group of
supporters. Patrick Henry, who had
thrown himself in the contest with his
usual energy, ,inarshaIed the forces of
the opposition in mastery attack.
But the eloquence of the great advo-
cate did not avail. For twenty three
days battle royal ragged, and then the
constitution was ratified by narrow
majority.
The struggle over the ratification of
the constitution was Patrick Ienry's
last great battle in the arena of poll
ties. During his public career his legal
practice had necessarily been neglect
ed. and like many other unselfsh
public servants. he found himself app
preaching old age with his private
fortune sadly impaired. Declining a
reelection to the goyernoTship in 1855,
after his fifth term, he returned To his
practice and soon repaired his for
tune. In 1874 he retired from practice
with a competency
In Retirement.
stitution cost him the friendship Of
many of his former associates, and for
a time there was a cloud between him
and Washington. In a letter written
soon after his retirement he speaks
thus of his attitude toward the gov
eminent he had tried to modify
Since the adoption of the present
constitution I have generally moved in
narrow circle. But in that / have
never omitted to inculcate a strict adj
herenee to the principles of it. And I