35 Motivational Patrick Henry Quotes For Success

Patrick Henry was an American attorney, planter, politician, and orator best known for his declaration to the Second Virginia Convention: “Give me liberty, or give me death!” A Founding Father, he served as the first and sixth post-colonial Governor of Virginia, from 1776 to 1779 and from 1784 to 1786. This Patrick Henry quotes on guns, liberty will motivate you.

Best Patrick Henry Quotes

1. The liberties of a people never were, nor ever will be, secure, when the transactions of their rulers may be concealed from them. ~ Patrick Henry
2. Bad men cannot make good citizens. It is when a people forget God that tyrants forge their chains. A vitiated state of morals, a corrupted public conscience, is incompatible with freedom. No free government, or the blessings of liberty, can be preserved to any people but by a firm adherence to justice, moderation, temperance, frugality, and virtue; and by a frequent recurrence to fundamental principles. ~ Patrick Henry
3. United we stand, divided we fall. Let us not split into factions which must destroy that union upon which our existence hangs. ~ Patrick Henry
4. [Our Constitution] is an instrument for the people to restrain the government. ~ Patrick Henry

5. It is when a people forget God, that tyrants forge their chains. ~ Patrick Henry

6. Are we at last brought to such humiliating and debasing degradation that we cannot be trusted with arms for our defense? Where is the difference between having our arms in possession and under our direction, and having them under the management of Congress? If our defense be the real object of having those arms, in whose hands can they be trusted with more propriety, or equal safety to us, as in our own hands? ~ Patrick Henry
7. My most cherished possession I wish I could leave you is my faith in Jesus Christ, for with Him and nothing else you can be happy, but without Him and with all else you’ll never be happy. ~ Patrick Henry
8. The militia is our ultimate safety. We can have no security without it. The great object is that every man be armed. ~ Patrick Henry
9. Power is the great evil with which we are contending. We have divided power between three branches of government and erected checks and balances to prevent abuse of power. However, where is the check on the power of the judiciary? If we fail to check the power of the judiciary, I predict that we will eventually live under judicial tyranny. ~ Patrick Henry

10. You ought to be extremely cautious, watchful, jealous of your liberty; for instead of securing your rights, you may lose them forever.

11. 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! ~ Patrick Henry
12. Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are inevitably ruined.

13. I know not what others may choose but, as for me, give me liberty or give me death. ~ Patrick Henry

14. Show me that age and country where the rights and liberties of the people were placed on the sole chance of their rulers being good men, without a consequent loss of liberty? ~ Patrick Henry
15. Fear is the passion of slaves. ~ Patrick Henry
16. My great objection to this government is, that it does not leave us the means of defending our rights, or of waging war against tyrants. ~ Patrick Henry
17. The eternal difference between right and wrong does not fluctuate, it is immutable. ~ Patrick Henry
18. Bad men cannot make good citizens. A vitiated state of morals, a corrupted public conscience are incompatible with freedom. ~ Patrick Henry
19. Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offense, I should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the Majesty of Heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings. ~ Patrick Henry

20. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. ~ Patrick Henry

21. When the American spirit was in its youth, the language of America was different: Liberty, sir, was the primary object. ~ Patrick Henry
22. . . . Virtue, morality, and religion. This is the armor, my friend, and this alone that renders us invincible. These are the tactics we should study. If we lose these, we are conquered, fallen indeed . . . so long as our manners and principles remain sound, there is no danger. ~ Patrick Henry
23. Human nature will never part with power. Look for an example of a voluntary relinquishment of power from one end of the globe to another – you will find none. ~ Patrick Henry
24. The officers of Congress may come upon you now, fortified with all the terrors of paramount federal authority. Excisemen taxmen may come in multitudes; for the limitation of their numbers no man knows. They may unless the general government is restrained … go into your cellars and rooms, and search, ransack, and measure, everything you eat, drink, and wear. ~ Patrick Henry
25. This is all the inheritance I give to my dear family. The religion of Christ will give them one which will make them rich indeed. ~ Patrick Henry Quotes
26. If you have given up your militia, and Congress shall refuse to arm them, you have lost everything. Your existence will be precarious because you depend on others, whose interests are not affected by your infelicity.

27. I know of no way of judging the future but by the past. ~ Patrick Henry

28. Have we the means of resisting disciplined armies, when our only defense, the militia, is put in the hands of Congress? ~ Patrick Henry
29. It is natural for man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts… For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth, to know the worst, and to provide for it. ~ Patrick Henry
30. Were my soul trembling on the wing of eternity, were this hand freezing to death, were my voice choking with the last struggle, I would still, with the last gasp of that voice, implore you to remember the truth: God has given America to be free. ~ Patrick Henry
31. Is the relinquishment of the trial by jury and the liberty of the press necessary for your liberty? Will the abandonment of your most sacred rights tend to the security of your liberty? Liberty, the greatest of all earthly blessings – give us that precious jewel, and you may take everything else! . . . Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel. ~ Patrick Henry
32. The great object is that every man be armed. ~ Patrick Henry
33. The King has degenerated into a tyrant and forfeits all rights to his subjects’ obedience. ~ Patrick Henry
34. Are we at last brought to such a humiliating and debasing degradation, that we cannot be trusted with arms for our defense? ~ Patrick Henry
35. The people have a right to keep and bear arms. ~ Patrick Henry

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