Patrick Henry

Champion of Liberty

By: Jon Kukla

Narrated by: Paul Woodson

Born in 1736, Patrick Henry was an attorney and a planter and an outstanding orator in the movement for independence. A contemporary of Washington, Henry stood with John and Samuel Adams among the leaders of the colonial resistance to Great Britain that ultimately created the United States. The first governor of Virginia after independence, he was reelected several times. After declining to attend the Constitutional Convention of 1787, Henry opposed the Constitution, arguing that it granted too much power to the central government. Although he denounced slavery as evil, like many other Southern slave owners, he accepted its continuation. Henry pushed vigorously for the 10 amendments to the new Constitution and then supported Washington and national unity against the bitter party divisions of the 1790s. He was enormously influential in his time, but his accomplishments, other than his oratory, were subsequently all but forgotten.

©2017 Jon Kukla (P)2017 HighBridge, a Division of Recorded Books

Fresh look at critical issues

More than a biography of Patrick Henry, this book intertwines his life with the forming of the country, highlighting areas of interest that I have not looked at from the point of view of a Southern slave owner and resident of Virginia which at that time had a claim to lands as distant as present Wisconsin. The author does an admiral job of presenting the states rights perspective and contrasting it with the Federalists. In addition it attempts to illuminate Henry's admittedly inadequate justification for continuing slavery while recognizing its inherent wrongness. Although it seems to a non historian to be at times overly detailed in a somewhat academic style the detail serves to give a feel of completeness to the work.

Outstanding walk through History

Bring a native Virginian, I relished and enjoyed the depth and elucidation of Patrick Henry. The amount of research needed for this book is incomprehensible. I am sure it took years to evolve. What I appreciated the most is how intertwined Patrick Henry was with the heros of our nation like Washington, Jefferson, and Hamilton. I also appreciated this book because I am a graduate of Emory & Henry College in Virginia.

Independent Patriot

Patrick Henry is like no other founding Father. The story was amazingly delivered by both the author and the reader.

Long awaited biography of Patrick Henry

Written with a sympathetic eye, the author, a fellow Virginian, does much service in educating modern readers of the greatness of Patrick Henry, one of our most eloquent and bedrock founding fathers!