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Secondary sourceArtifact1741

St. John's Episcopal Church, Richmond

1741

The Richmond church, built in 1741, where Patrick Henry delivered his famous 'liberty or death' speech in March 1775.

This is the church where Henry delivered his famous 'liberty or death' speech in March 1775.

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Photo of a white wooden church entrance with a pair of tall brown wooden double doors with raised panels. Above the doors is a transom window with a dark blue glass panel reading 'St. John's 1741'. The doors sit on a brick-paved walkway with white clapboard walls on either side and green shrubs at the base.
St. John's Episcopal Church, Richmond, Virginia, built 1741.

About this source

What it is

This is a photograph of the entrance to St. John's Episcopal Church in Richmond, Virginia, a building dating from 1741 that still stands today.

Why it matters

This church is where Patrick Henry delivered his famous speech calling for liberty in March 1775, a key moment pushing Virginia toward the American Revolution. The building's survival lets people visit the actual site connected to this historic speech.

Look closer

  • What does the photograph show about how the building has been preserved over time?
  • Why might the physical survival of a site matter for how we remember a historical event?
  • What can't a photograph of a building tell us about what happened inside it?

This artifact is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Patrick Henry on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Black-and-white lithograph of a legislative chamber with Patrick Henry standing center, one arm raised, addressing seated and standing men in period dress. Other delegates raise their hands, and a man in a robe sits at left. A printed document labeled 'Proceedings of the Virginia Assembly' lies on the floor. Caption below reads 'Give me liberty, or give me death!'Speech

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Give Me Liberty, or Give Me Death!

Patrick Henry · 23 March 1775 (text reconstructed 1817)

Document

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Virginia Stamp Act Resolves

Patrick Henry · 29 May 1765

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Speeches Against Ratification at the Virginia Ratifying Convention

Patrick Henry · June 1788

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Letter from Patrick Henry to Robert Pleasants on Slavery

Patrick Henry · 18 January 1773

Aged, yellowed parchment page with handwritten calligraphy in brown ink. The heading reads 'Congress of the United States' in large script, followed by the opening lines of the document below.Document

Primary source

Bill of Rights

25 September 1789

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