Patrick Henry: First Among Patriots

Patrick Henry was devoted to liberty, patriotism, and public moral virtue. These three threads are important to understanding his life and impact.In First Among Patriots, Thomas Kidd examines the man known as the "Voice of the American Revolution." Most Americans know Henry only for his "Give me liberty" speech. Many, through history and in contemporary culture, try to claim him as a patron saint for their own political positions. Henry, however, is much more than any popular conception.A native of what was then the "back-woods" region of Virginia, Henry achieved prominence as a lawyer and eventually as a representative in the colonial legislature. It was there that his oratorical skills would help rouse the nation to the cause of Independence. Considered a radical by some, a patriot by others, Henry would become a controversial figure in both Virginia and national politics.He would serve as the state's war-time governor and repeatedly in the state legislature. His legendary oratorical skills were not matched by political aptitude, and he often grew impatient with extended deliberation. This was to his detriment - on more than one occasion, he would lose a battle he thought already won.Henry's passion for liberty would rouse a nation to independence. His passion for limited government would pit him against the architects of the new American government. It was his role as a leader of the anti-Federalists, those who opposed the adoption of the Constitution, that earned him the animosity of many of the founding fathers and his former friends.Kidd makes note of the influence of faith in Henry's life. Much of his thinking, including his views on an established church, was shaped by a firm belief in the necessity of public morality to the stability of a nation. Siding against his one-time friend Thomas Jefferson and the Baptists of Virginia, he believed that the government should encourage morality through support of churches.The author notes that Henry believed the government should promote morality. "Two primary ways of doing this were punishing immorality under the law, and encouraging morality through churches and schools." He continues, "Jefferson and Madison cooperated with many evangelical dissenters, especially Baptists, in arguing that religion would survive, and even thrive, on a purely voluntary basis."Henry was no saint. His flaws include inconsistency on the issue of slavery, a tendency to bend principle for the sake of profit, and occasional lapses in his characteristic frugality are evident. Kidd highlights these, but frames them charitably in their proper context.I found this book enjoyable to read. It provide a more accurate portrait of the man I consider one of the most underrated of the founding fathers. The author strikes a proper balance between the subject and the historical setting without getting either out of focus. He gives insight into an important period of our history through the life of a man who was "first among patriots."

I really enjoyed this book. For the most part, I found it to be very balanced and well done. There are some places where I felt like Prof. Kidd fell into some modern, politically-correct type analysis that I don't find all that helpful. For example, Prof. Kidd seems to occaisionally accept the prevailing "wisdom" that the American War for Independence was only about money and taxes. Much could be said on this, but it will suffice here to note that this requires us to ignore the words of the Declaration of Independence itself, which talks about a lot more than money. Were all of the Founders just liars who were only concerned about finances but clothed this little financial dispute with the motherland in grandiose language about liberty, freedom, and tyranny? I find such a proposition untenable, but I realize that makes me a distinct minority and probably disqalifies me from being an intellectual due to my audacity to take these people at their word. (Further, lest there be any misunderstanding, I think that economic freedom is enormously important. Right up there with religious and political freedom, as they all go hand-in-hand. Sort of like "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," which undoubtedly included the pursuit of property.)However, overall, and with that said, I found the book well-written, historically accurate, fair, and engaging. As an example, he doesn't hid Henry's great talents as an orator, his devotion to the Christian faith, or his penchant for land speculation. He shows Henry as a man dedicated to freedom, and he fairly presents his opposition to the Constitution. He notes that many of Henry's fears regarding the Constitution have come to pass, and, in a particularly well done chapter at the end of the book, he endeavors to tell us what he thinks Henry would think about our current situation. Here is a sample: "[I]t is no great leap to imagine that Patrick Henry would fundamentally object to nearly every feature of today's titanic national government. This statement is not to place Henry on either side of today's political spectrum: he would disapprove equally of the massive, top-down social programs championed by the Left, the globetrotting military power championed by the Right, and the bailouts of financial companies championed by a majority of politicians in 2008. Unlike many of his Christian conservative admirers today, he would not approve of America's recent ventures associated with the War on Terrorism . . . . Henry would probably find that today's America has almost nothing in common with the republic of liberty he envisioned in 1776. On the other hand, the national government has seemingly burst all bounds of power on the domestic and international stages, and on the other, the notion of a virtuous republic has been almost entirely abandoned in favor of what people of Henry's age would have called "license." To him, consolidated political power and ethical license historically triggered the loss of true liberty and the rise of moral and political tyranny." (p. 252-253.) That paragraph certainly shows the fairness of the treatment of Henry and the modern situation!I heartily recommend this book.