Did Patrick Henry Warn Us About Donald Trump?

Patrick Henry

Okay, neither I, nor anyone alive, has a right to speak for Patrick Henry. Let’s let him speak for himself. Henry is best known for his magnificent “Liberty or Death” speech, which was (ahem) written by William Henry Wirt a generation after Patrick Henry’s death. Henry is also known for being the governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia. He is less well known as a keen opponent of the United States Constitution. Let’s look at one of his real speeches, which he delivered in June 1788 during the Virginia Convention to ratify the new Constitution – the Constitution by which the United States is governed today. Patrick Henry warned us about kingship, tyranny, and dynastic rule.

  

Patrick Henry Warned That the Constitution Would Lead to Tyranny

Like the libertarian that he was, Henry began by asserting majority rule: 

“This, sir, is the language of democracy—that a majority of the community have a right to alter government when found to be oppressive. But how different is the genius of your new Constitution from this!” 

Henry then warned that the Constitution would lead to an imperial government, which would defeat the system of checks and balances and impose tyranny: 

“There will be no checks, no real balances, in this government. What can avail your specious, imaginary balances, your rope-dancing, chain-rattling, ridiculous ideal checks and contrivances?”

“Rope-dancing, chain-rattling?” He felt that Constitution’s checks for liberty were “ridiculous ideal checks and contrivances.” That is a scary warning.

Patrick Henry Warned of an Imperial Presidency

Henry complained about two institutions: the presidency and the Senate. Let’s start with the presidency, which he called a fearful institution that a determined officeholder could abuse:

“If your American chief be a man of ambition and abilities, how easy is it for him to render himself absolute!”

Henry warned that the Constitution imposed no real check on the president, for the president commanded too much power. He warned that the president could quickly become a tyrant: 

“Away with your president! we shall have a king: the army will salute him monarch; your militia will leave you, and assist in making him king, and fight against you: and what have you to oppose this force? What will then become of you and your rights? Will not absolute despotism ensue?”

 Yes, Patrick Henry warned that the president could become a king. But that wasn’t all –

 

Patrick Henry Also Warned Us about the Senate

The United States Senate, which has the power of impeachment, the power to ratify treaties, and the right to withhold its consent from presidential appointments, is the Constitution’s principal check on presidential power. 

With respect to checks and balances, Patrick Henry felt that the Senate would be unable to protect democratic rule. We will recall that every state in the union receives two senators, regardless of population. Patrick Henry noted that, in his day, “The increasing population of the Southern States is far greater than that of New England.” He proudly said that Virginia, which was at the time the most populous state, might defeat the other 12 states if war came. Still, he felt it was unjust if tiny states could have the same representation in the Senate as Virginia: 

“Your Senate is so imperfectly constructed that your dearest rights may be sacrificed to what may be a small minority; and a very small minority may continue for ever unchangeably this government, altho horridly defective. Where are your checks in this government? Your strongholds will be in the hands of your enemies.”

Forceful, no? “Your Senate," he said. “In the hands of your enemies,” he said. Strong words. 

What Would Patrick Henry Say Today?

Well, again, I don’t know what Patrick Henry would say today. But let’s draw out his ideas to the present: 

First, by refusing to confirm Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court, the Republican-controlled Senate tilted the Supreme Court to the right wing. President Donald Trump won the presidency by winning a majority of the Electoral College while losing the popular vote by millions. Today, the United States Senate has a Republican majority and has been reluctant to place checks on President Trump’s power. Yet, Democrats in the Senate represent about 15 million people more than are represented by the Senate’s Republicans. California, which leans Democratic, has a population estimated at almost 40 million, while Wyoming, which is strongly Republican, has a population of less than 600,000. Yet each has two senators. A tendency toward minority rule? 

Although I can’t speak for Patrick Henry, I can point out that his 1788 speech predicted exactly this kind of problem. We have a President and United States Senate who represent a minority of the population, and yet who are striving to retain power even if they get outvoted again. 

 

Lessons for Today?

Patrick Henry did give his audience values to govern by: “The first thing I have at heart is American liberty; the second thing is American union.” 

What got me thinking about Patrick Henry’s speech? The Democratic National Convention included some speeches by family members, including Jill Biden and Michelle Obama. The Republican National Convention just announced its upcoming speaker lineup, and several major speakers are members of President Trump’s family. Does that sound like a monarchy? Or not? Is the Republican National Convention taking the Trump family dynasty too far? Or not? Or are both the Democratic and Republican parties, to greater or lesser degrees, taking on a dynastic aura? That’s a hard question. 

I, for one, support the United States Constitution. Still, Patrick Henry had a point. 

What do you think Patrick Henry would say about the 2020 election? Someone who believes in strict democracy, like Patrick Henry, supports majority rule. The idea of the republican form of government, that is, representative democracy, is majority rule with protection for minority rights. Yet, Patrick Henry warned us that unscrupulous leaders could twist the Constitution’s checks and balances to oppress our rights. 

When we vote in 2020, what kind of America do we support? Patrick Henry’s speech asked many hard questions. We have more hard questions to ask today. Heed, then, Patrick Henry’s final warning: 

“This Constitution is said to have beautiful features; but when I come to examine these features, sir, they appear to me horribly frightful. Among other deformities, it has an awful squinting; it squints toward monarchy, and does not this raise indignation in the breast of every true American?”

Are we squinting toward monarchy? And if so, what should we do about it? Patrick Henry speaks to us across the centuries.