Perspectives

Historical perspective

Patrick Henry’s “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!” speech was delivered at the height of the tension between the Thirteen Colonies and Great Britain. In his speech, Henry argued that war with Britain was inevitable as Britain did not want to compromise with the colonies and give them more autonomy. Indeed, not even a month later the…

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Textual perspectives

Franklin Roosevelt’s “Pearl Harbor” speech is similar to Patrick Henry’s “Give me Liberty or Give Me Death!”. In his speech, Roosevelt, the 32nd President of the United States, aims to persuade his audience of the necessity to declare war on the Empire of Japan. Unlike Patrick Henry, who delivered his speech directly to the significant figures who could take action to prepare for the Revolutionary War, Roosevelt delivered his speech live by radio to the entire American population. Therefore, while he targeted members of the US Congress to achieve his main intention, he also had a secondary intention of convincing the American people to support the war effort. 

Patrick Henry’s famous line which is also the title of his speech, “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!” was also famously used in “The Ballot or the Bullet” speech by Malcolm X. In his speech, Malcolm X says “It'll be ballots, or it'll be bullets. It'll be liberty, or it will be death”. In the same way that Malcolm X says that people will use violence if they cannot be granted civil rights, he also says that people are going to die on all sides in the battle for freedom and equality until it i…