Speech to the Second Virginia Convention

Historians have maintained that this was an impactful speech. By the end of the convention, the group had decided to prepare for armed defense of their freedom and appointed a committee to discuss the logistics of raising a militia to resist the British.

This first paragraph uses the persuasive strategy of invoking God: “Should I keep back my opinions at such a time,” Henry says, “I should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country, and an act of disloyalty toward the Majesty of Heaven” (Paragraph 1). This is one of many invocations of the Christian God in the speech, and it is part of Henry’s technique in persuading his listeners: If being quiet would be an affront to God, then surely, the logic follows, Henry should speak his mind.

The second paragraph contains the first use of back-to-back rhetorical questions, which persist in the following paragraphs. Henry says that men often “shut [their] eyes against a painful truth” but asks, “Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and, having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation?” (Paragraph 2).