For the People, For the Country

Patrick Henry's Final Political Battle

John A. Ragosta

• Publisher: University of Virginia Press
• Year: 2023
• Print ISBN: 9780813950228
• eBook ISBN: 9780813950235
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Historical Biographies
• Index: History

In 1799, at the behest of President George Washington, Patrick Henry came out of retirement to defend the Constitution that he had once opposed and to thwart Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, whom Washington accused of putting party over country and threatening the fragile union. For the People, For the Country tells the remarkable story of how the most eloquent public speaker of the American Revolutionary era and a leading antifederalist during debates over ratification of the Constitution reemerged on the side of the federalists and once again changed history.

Much more than a fire-breathing demagogue, the Patrick Henry we encounter here comes to life as a principled leader of the young nation who believed above all in working with a government elected by the people, advocating for political change in "a constitutional way"—at the ballot box. A gripping narrative, this book will change long-held views of this great Founding Father.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Preface
• Introduction: “Every Thing Dear & Valuable to Us Is Assailed”
• 1. Patrick Henry’s Political Philosophy: The People’s Right to Govern
• 2. Patrick Henry, America’s Leading Antifederalist
• 3. The 1790s: A New Nation Takes Its First Steps
• 4. The Alien and Sedition Acts: Jefferson’s Dilemma and Radical Response
• 5. “A Constitutional Way”
• 6. The Crisis Dissolves: “The Earth Belongs . . . to the Living”
• Epilogue: “I Know of No Way of Judging of the Future but by the Past”
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index