(Editor's Note: The Recorder is featuring a weekly series every Saturday over the next year on the founding of this nation leading up to the 250 th anniversary on July 4, 2026 of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The series is being provided by the Alta Mira Chapter of the Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Loucks wrote this article for the California State America 250 Committee).

By 1775 the tensions between the English Parliament and the American colonies were escalating. Patrick Henry was among the emerging leaders in the colonies. He was born in Virginia in 1736. He was tutored by his father and then primarily self-educated as a lawyer. In 1765 he was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses and quickly became known for his inflammatory

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