Did the colonies have the right to resist Britain by arms?

OCR: 6 cited passage(s) are machine-read (OCR) text of old printings; quotations reproduce the stored OCR text, misreadings included.

Reporter's notes: some cited speeches survive only as a reporter's shorthand record, not the speaker's own text.

Reconstruction: a cited text was reconstructed from recollection decades later (not a verbatim record).

1. WHAT HE SAID (the record)

Record ledger

• ACTION (editor's note) (1765-10; editor's note, not his words): The editor reports that Patrick Henry's position that parliamentary taxation of the unrepresented Colonies was unconstitutional and should be resisted became the avowed doctrine of America. "The ground on which Mr. Henry had planted himself, that parliamentary taxation of the unrepresented Colonies was unconstitutional, and should be resisted, became the avowed doctrine of America." [1]
• BELIEF (undated): Patrick Henry believed that the colonies had no choice but to resist Britain by arms, as he considered the situation to be one of 'freedom or slavery.' He argued that the colonies must fight immediately, as there was 'no retreat but in submission and slavery,' and that the war was 'inevitable.' (key quote above) [2]
• BELIEF (1788-06-04; reporter's paraphrase): Patrick Henry expressed the belief that the colonies had the right to resist Britain by arms, arguing that the people had lost their ability to defend themselves and that a standing army under the new government would be used to enforce tyranny. (key quote above) [3]
• BELIEF (1788-06-04; reporter's paraphrase): Patrick Henry believed that the colonies had the right to resist Britain by arms, as he argued that the people must be armed to protect their liberties and that trusting in implication or the virtues of rulers was insufficient for safety. "You would be laughed at by the whole world for trusting your safety implicitly to implication." [4]
• BELIEF (1790-02-08): Patrick Henry believed that the colonies had the right to resist Britain by arms, as he expressed the view that 'the power in whom was vested the sword and the purse and a paramount authority, could have no competitor' and that he had 'bounded my hopes to the single object of securing ... the great and essential rights of freemen from the encroachments of Power, so far as to authorize resistance when they should be either openly attacked or insidiously undermined.' [5]
• BELIEF (undated): Patrick Henry believed the colonies had the right to resist Britain by arms, based on necessity and the principles of just war, which include weakening the enemy to suppress injustice. (key quote above) [6]
• BELIEF (undated): The passage shows that the author believed the colonies had the right to resist Britain by arms, based on the argument that in a revolutionary war, debts can be forfeited and that the American people were stripped of their municipal rights, thus freeing them from obligations and justifying resistance. "we will find reason more than sufficient to give us a right of confiscating those debts." [7]
• ACTION (editor's note) (undated; editor's note, not his words): Patrick Henry took his seat in Congress, and the first utterance of the body after that day was a unanimous determination to arm for the defence of their liberties. The Congress directed a committee, with Washington at its head, to consider and report immediately the ways and means to supply the colonies with ammunition and military stores. "The first utterance of the body after the day Mr. Henry took his seat was a unanimous determination to arm for the defence of their liberties, a determination which fixed the fate of America, and assured her political freedom." [8]
• ACTION (editor's note) (undated; editor's note, not his words): Patrick Henry had been convinced before the meeting of Congress that no reconciliation would take place, and he did not hesitate to declare this conviction in debate. "it is certain that Mr. Henry had been convinced before the meeting of Congress that no reconciliation would, take place, and he did not hesitate to declare this conviction in debate." [9]

What cuts against it

• The contrary-evidence entries are already in the record ledger above: [1], [5].

2. HOW IT APPLIES (reasoning; inference is marked)

1. Patrick Henry believed the colonies had the right to resist Britain by arms, as he argued that the situation was one of 'freedom or slavery.' [2]

2. He argued that the colonies must fight immediately, as there was 'no retreat but in submission and slavery,' and that the war was 'inevitable.' [2]

3. He believed that the colonies had the right to resist Britain by arms, based on necessity and the principles of just war, which include weakening the enemy to suppress injustice. [6]

4. He expressed the belief that the colonies had the right to resist Britain by arms, arguing that the people had lost their ability to defend themselves and that a standing army under the new government would be used to enforce tyranny. [3]

5. He believed that the colonies had the right to resist Britain by arms, as he expressed the view that 'the power in whom was vested the sword and the purse and a paramount authority, could have no competitor' and that he had 'bounded my hopes to the single object of securing ... the great and essential rights of freemen from the encroachments of Power — so far as to authorize resistance when they should be either openly attacked or insidiously undermined.' [5]

3. HIS TAKE

Record coverage: DIRECT

Extrapolation: Patrick Henry directly addressed the question of whether the colonies had the right to resist Britain by arms. He argued that the colonies had no choice but to resist, as the situation was one of 'freedom or slavery.' He believed that the colonies must fight immediately, as there was 'no retreat but in submission and slavery,' and that the war was 'inevitable.' He also argued that the colonies had the right to resist Britain by arms, based on necessity and the principles of just war, which include weakening the enemy to suppress injustice. He expressed the belief that the colonies had the right to resist Britain by arms, arguing that the people had lost their ability to defend themselves and that a standing army under the new government would be used to enforce tyranny. He also believed that the colonies had the right to resist Britain by arms, as he expressed the view that 'the power in whom was vested the sword and the purse and a paramount authority, could have no competitor' and that he had 'bounded my hopes to the single object of securing ... the great and essential rights of freemen from the encroachments of Power — so far as to authorize resistance when they should be either openly attacked or insidiously undermined.'

Competing readings: The record supports the reading that Patrick Henry believed the colonies had the right to resist Britain by arms, as he argued that the situation was one of 'freedom or slavery' and that the colonies must fight immediately. The record also supports the reading that he believed the colonies had the right to resist Britain by arms, based on necessity and the principles of just war, which include weakening the enemy to suppress injustice. The record supports the reading that he expressed the belief that the colonies had the right to resist Britain by arms, arguing that the people had lost their ability to defend themselves and that a standing army under the new government would be used to enforce tyranny. The record supports the reading that he believed the colonies had the right to resist Britain by arms, as he expressed the view that 'the power in whom was vested the sword and the purse and a paramount authority, could have no competitor' and that he had 'bounded my hopes to the single object of securing ... the great and essential rights of freemen from the encroachments of Power — so far as to authorize resistance when they should be either openly attacked or insidiously undermined.'

Confidence: High. The record directly supports the position that Patrick Henry believed the colonies had the right to resist Britain by arms. The evidence is strong and consistent across multiple passages, including his speeches and letters.