"We must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms and to the God of Hosts is all that is left us! They tell us, sir, that we are weak; unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot? Sir, we are not weak, if we make a proper use of the means which the God of nature hath placed in our power.... There is no retreat, but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable--and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come! "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!" This wonderful speech made a deep impression not only in Virginia but throughout the colonies. The next month the war began at Lexington and Concord. A little later Patrick Henry was made commander-in-chief of the Virginia forces, and later still was elected Governor of Virginia. At the age of fifty-eight he retired to an estate in Charlotte County, called "Red Hill," where he lived a simple and beautiful life. He died in 1799. His influence in arousing the people of Virginia and of the other colonies to a sense of their rights as freemen cannot easily be measured. Without doubt his impassioned oratory played a most important part in shaping the course of events which resulted in the Revolutionary War. REVIEW OUTLINE THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. GEORGE THE THIRD'S PLAN TO TAX THE COLONIES IN SUPPORT OF A STANDING ARMY. THE STAMP ACT. THE COLONISTS OBJECT TO THE STAMP ACT; "NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION." GEORGE THE THIRD'S DESIRE FOR PERSONAL POWER. FONDNESS OF PATRICK HENRY FOR OUT-DOOR SPORTS. HE FAILS AS A STOREKEEPER. PATRICK HENRY AS A LAWYER. HIS PERSONAL APPEARANCE. HIS GREAT SPEECH OPPOSING THE STAMP ACT. ENGLISH OPPOSITION TO TAXING THE AMERICANS WITHOUT THEIR CONSENT. REPEAL OF THE STAMP ACT. PATRICK HENRY'S DEFIANT SPEECH IN ST. JOHN'S CHURCH. HIS INFLUENCE AND LATER LIFE. TO THE PUPIL 1. What was the Stamp Act and what was its purpose? Why did the colonists object to it?