Primary Sources
As you read each source, practice these four skills:
Patrick Henry gave this speech to convince Virginia's leaders to prepare for war with Britain. Note: This text was reconstructed from memory by Henry's biographer in 1817 — we don't have Henry's original words. But it captures the fiery rhetoric that helped push the colonies toward revolution.
It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace — but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!
How does this speech reflect the growing anger described in the textbook?
Henry, Patrick. "Give Me Liberty, or Give Me Death." 23 Mar. 1775. As reconstructed in Wirt, William. Sketches of the Life and Character of Patrick Henry. 1817.
Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence in about two weeks. The preamble contains some of the most famous words in American history. But as you read, ask yourself: Who did Jefferson mean by "all men"?
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it.
How does this document connect to Patrick Henry's speech? Do they share the same ideas?
Jefferson, Thomas. "The Declaration of Independence." 4 July 1776. National Archives.
While John Adams was in Philadelphia helping to declare independence, his wife Abigail wrote him this famous letter. She was half-joking and half-serious — and her husband completely dismissed her.
I long to hear that you have declared an independency — and by the way in the new Code of Laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make I desire you would Remember the Ladies, and be more generous and favourable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the Husbands. Remember all Men would be tyrants if they could.
John Adams's reply: "As to your extraordinary Code of Laws, I cannot but laugh."
The Declaration says "all men are created equal." How does Abigail's letter expose the limits of that idea?
Adams, Abigail. "Letter to John Adams." 31 Mar. 1776. Adams Family Papers, Massachusetts Historical Society.
Lord Dunmore, the British governor of Virginia, offered freedom to any enslaved person who escaped and joined the British army. This terrified slaveholding Patriots — and forced enslaved people to make an impossible choice.
I do hereby… declare all indented Servants, Negroes, or others, (appertaining to Rebels,) free that are able and willing to bear Arms, they joining His MAJESTY'S Troops as soon as may be.
How does this proclamation complicate the idea that the Revolution was simply about "freedom"? Whose freedom?
Dunmore, John Murray, Earl of. "A Proclamation." 7 Nov. 1775. The Avalon Project, Yale Law School.
Joseph Plumb Martin enlisted in the Continental Army at age 15. His memoir, published decades later, is one of the best accounts of what ordinary soldiers actually experienced. This passage describes the winter at Valley Forge.
We were absolutely, literally starved… I did not put a single morsel of victuals into my mouth for four days and as many nights, except a little black birch bark which I gnawed off a stick of wood… I saw several of the men roast their old shoes and eat them.
The textbook describes Valley Forge as a turning point. Does Martin's account support that idea?
Martin, Joseph Plumb. A Narrative of a Revolutionary Soldier. 1830.