Rhetorical situation

Speaker

The speaker of the “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!” speech is Patrick Henry, an American attorney, politician, and the future first governor of Virginia. He was also an important figure in the American Revolutionary War and played a crucial part in the foundation of the United States of America.

Henry was elected as a representative of the Virginia General Assembly, the legislative body of the Colony of Virginia, where he spoke against the unfair taxation measures that Britain was enforcing on the Thirteen Colonies at the time. As such, he was one of the Virginian delegates to participate in the First Continental Congress, where he drafted and signed a petition to the king to repeal the Intolerable Acts. His “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!” speech was delivered at the Second Virginia Convention, where he argued that war against Britain was inevitable and necessary for the colonies to retain their freedom. 

In his speech, Henry describes himself as a patriotic and religious man, who feels it is his duty to give his honest opinion on the conflict with Britain: 

Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offence, I should consider myself guilty of treason towards my country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the majesty of heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings.

 In this way, Henry says that his loyalty is to his country and to God above any king. 

Henry also refers to the way he judges the future only based on his experi...