Henry Respects You, But You're Still Wrong
- Henry addresses his speech to the president of the convention, Peyton Randolph. (This was customary for speakers in legislative bodies at the time.)
- But make no mistake, he's talking to all y'all.
- We hear some compliments to those who disagree with Henry and think more diplomacy is needed before taking up arms. He says they're cool guys.
- Then Henry says they're wrong…and that, if he didn't say something, he'd be in the wrong too.
- Henry's going to speak freely, because holding back would offend both his country and his God.
- Historical Context Alert: Anybody notice that when Henry talks about his country, he's not talking about Great Britain? He's talking about America.
- It doesn't sound weird today because we know Henry as one of the Founding Fathers of the United States.
- But at the time, most people didn't think of themselves as Americans; they thought of themselves as Britons who had some qualms with their government.
- This kind of talk marks Henry as a political radical.