. The magazine of American history with notes and queries. was the leader of the party for deliberate action. He be-longed to a good family fallen to decay, as he wrote in his old age, thefirst of whom had come to Virginia about a century before, and in hisboyhood was left an orphan without resources. His poor estate soonchanged. He worked industriously and bought books, became clerk ofCaroline Court, then a member of the bar, and entering the Burgesses at THE VIRGINIA DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 3« i about thirty, soon rose to distinction. The whole constitution of his mindwas opposed to revo
. The magazine of American history with notes and queries. was the leader of the party for deliberate action. He be-longed to a good family fallen to decay, as he wrote in his old age, thefirst of whom had come to Virginia about a century before, and in hisboyhood was left an orphan without resources. His poor estate soonchanged. He worked industriously and bought books, became clerk ofCaroline Court, then a member of the bar, and entering the Burgesses at THE VIRGINIA DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 3« i about thirty, soon rose to distinction. The whole constitution of his mindwas opposed to revolution and separation from England. He was a de-voted and ardent churchman, believed that a leveling democracy wasdangerous to society, and had that intuitive love of prescription, somarked a trait in the eminent lawyers of England. Like Washingtonand many other eminent men of the time, he hoped and believed thatAmerican wrongs would be redressed ; but rinding this hope vain, he u op-posed the violent who were for plunging us into rash measures with the. SEAT OF PATRICK HENRY. (From a Picture in Howes Historical Collections of Virginia.) view to raise the spirits of the timid to a general united policy here set forth in his own words, in his latter years, was thatwhich made him the leader of the planter class, to which he and they were the slaves of Church and King so bitterly denounced ;and as the representative of the views of that influential class the most re-sponsible positions were accorded to him as of right. He was made presidentof nearly all the conventions : represented Virginia in the General Congress;and at the most critical moment of the struggle, when there was no ex-ecutive and all was in confusion, was appointed President of the Com- 382 THE VIRGINIA DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE mittee of Safety which held control of the purse and sword of theCommonwealth.* Pendletons distinction in the eyes of the community was rather thatof the state
Size: 1788px × 1397px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bo, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, bookpublishernewyorkasbarnes
