In-Text References

Literary and Philosophical References

Sirens (9)

Historical and Political References

The British Ministry (15, 29)
The throne (40, 41)
Parliament (40)

(Check out the "Glossary" for more about these.)

Pop Culture References

Liberty or Death (75) from Cato, A Tragedy, a play popular in Colonial America and especially among the Founding Fathers

Biblical References

"[…] having eyes, see not, and, having ears, hear not" (11) This reference could be to Deuteronomy 29:4, Jeremiah 5:21, Ezekiel 12:2, Mark 8:18, or Romans 11:8. It's a fairly common theme.

"Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss." (18) This refers to Judas' betrayal of Christ and appears in Matthew 26:48, Mark 14:44, and Luke 22:48.

"[…] and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us" (57) This is a reference to God's protection of Israel in II Chronicles 32:8.

"The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone" (57) This is a reference to Ecclesiastes 9:11.

"Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace, but there is no peace." (66) This is a reference to Jeremiah 6:14.

"Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle?" (69-70) This is a reference to the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard in Matthew 20:6.

References to This Text

This is a tough one because Patrick Henry didn't make up the concept of "Give me liberty or give me death!" He just made it into an amazing catch phrase.

That idea (you got two options: liberty or death) has been around for millennia, at least since the Greeks started thinking seriously about personal freedom and the Romans had their whole Republic vs. Empire thing. When somebody references "liberty or death," we can't be sure they're referencing Henry, because the idea wasn't originally his. With that caveat, let's consider some possible references.

Literary and Philosophical References

Despite the fact that Henry wasn't referring to literal slavery in this speech, the idea of death as preferable to slavery shows up in almost every American abolitionist text and slave narrative of the 19th century.

Historical and Political References

"Liberty or Death" was the slogan on the flag of the Culpeper Minutemen later in 1775.

Pop Culture References

Check out this t-shirt at Hot Topic.

If you can't get enough American Revolution, try the vintage video game.