He succeeded well in his law practice, and in a few years had so much
business that people in his part of Virginia began to take notice of him.
In 1765, soon after the Stamp Act was passed by the British Parliament, he
was elected a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses, a body not unlike
our State Legislature.
PATRICK HENRY'S FIERY SPEECH AGAINST THE STAMP ACT
History gives us a vivid picture of the young lawyer at this time as he
rides on horseback along the country road toward Williamsburg, then the
capital of Virginia. He is wearing a faded coat, leather knee-breeches,
and yarn stockings, and carries his law papers in his saddle-bag. Although
but twenty-nine, his tall, thin figure stoops as if bent with age. He does
not look the important man he is soon to become.
When he reaches the little town of Williamsburg, he finds great
excitement. Men gather in small groups on the street, talking in anxious
tones. Serious questions are being discussed: "What shall we do about the
Stamp Act?" they say. "Shall we submit and say nothing? Shall we send a
petition to King George asking him for justice? Shall we beg Parliament to
repeal the act, or shall we take a bold stand and declare that we will not
obey it?"
Not only on the street, but also in the House of Burgesses was great
excitement.
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