Patrick Henry

He is remembered for seven words: "Give me liberty of give me death." More than any other founding father he represented the power of the ordinary citizens of the new nation. Patrick Henry rose from simple roots to mingle with the colonial aristocracy, helping blaze the trail to freedom alongside Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. While others led men through the influence of position, wealth, and education, Henry staked his claim on the power of his voice. He was, without a doubt, the greatest orator of his age. BIOGRAPHY tells his story through expert commentary, period accounts and artifacts, and revealing excerpts from Henry's speeches and writings. Discover how the speaker balanced his rhetoric with a keen political sense, and how he never wavered in his defense of individual liberty, fearing that the Constitution paved the way for domination by a central government. Fiery, outspoken, yet personally prudent, Patrick Henry was the first voice of the American people, the pied piper of liberty.

• documentary