Patrick Henry: Liberty or Death!
on Saturday, May 29, 2021Patrick Henry Money Quote saying those willing to be chained to peace are shackled and enslaved by it. Either freedom or death. Patrick Henry said:
“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
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In this famous quote, Patrick Henry is passionately advocating for liberty over submission to tyranny and oppression. He asks rhetorically whether life itself or peace is so valuable that they should be obtained by accepting “chains and slavery” through the loss of freedom.
Henry declares that he would rather die than live without liberty. The “price” he refers to is sacrificing independence and consenting to domination in exchange for safety or stability. But Henry strongly rejects that exchange, invoking God to forbid such a compromise.
He acknowledges others may choose differently, but as for himself his uncompromising choice is liberty or death. The quote portrays liberty as so precious that it is worth fighting and even dying for, rather than relinquishing it through compliance with repressive rule. It frames liberty as more important than physical or material security purchased at the cost of independence and self-governance.
Birthday May 29, 1736 – Death June 6, 1799