Give Me Liberty 1936
Transcript
00:00 [THEME MUSIC]
00:03 [THEME MUSIC]
00:06 [THEME MUSIC]
00:10 [THEME MUSIC]
00:13 [THEME MUSIC]
00:18 [THEME MUSIC]
00:21 [THEME MUSIC]
00:25 [THEME MUSIC]
00:29 [THEME MUSIC]
00:33 [THEME MUSIC]
00:37 [THEME MUSIC]
01:05 [CHATTER]
01:09 Gentlemen, gentlemen!
01:26 Mr. Patrick Henry has the floor.
01:29 Clark, when in Caesar, had each his Brutus.
01:31 Charles I, his Cromwell.
01:34 And George III--
01:35 Treason!
01:36 Treason!
01:37 And George III may profit by their example.
01:41 If this be treason, make the most of it.
01:45 [CHATTER]
01:48 [THEME MUSIC]
01:53 [THEME MUSIC]
01:56 Oh, where is everybody?
02:14 Oh, nice!
02:15 [LAUGHTER]
02:21 Oh, here you are.
02:23 Come out there.
02:24 Great guesses.
02:25 Well, if it's who I think it is, a finger in the ribs
02:28 will give me the answer.
02:29 [LAUGHTER]
02:31 It's the giggle of Sarah Jackson.
02:32 [CHATTER]
02:34 Well, it was fun while it lasted.
02:36 And now for some music.
02:37 Patrick, I think you'll find him in the study.
02:40 Well, if it's politics, he's talking.
02:42 I'll have him straight out.
02:43 He was going to play his fiddle tonight and forget politics.
02:46 War will come.
02:48 It has come already.
02:49 And mark you me, we'll have to fight for liberty.
02:52 One of these days, Patrick, they'll
02:54 take you out and hang you.
02:56 Better a glorious death, Payton, than an inglorious life.
03:00 But to be sent back to England and put in prison there,
03:03 as I understand they're doing now, if one as much
03:05 as breathes the word liberty.
03:07 No, no.
03:08 Too great a price to pay for being outspoken.
03:12 Have you gentlemen forgotten there's a party tonight?
03:15 Oh, forgive us, Doxy.
03:17 Come, Pendleton.
03:19 We'd best go back or our wives will
03:21 put us in prison for neglect.
03:23 I'm terribly sorry, my dear.
03:29 I hope you'll bear in mind what's just been said
03:32 about England and the prison.
03:34 I doubt they'd do that to me.
03:35 That's what William Saunders said.
03:37 And he's in jail now.
03:39 And his wife and babies are having
03:40 to feed off their neighbors.
03:42 I'd feel so much happier, Patrick, if you'd
03:44 not talk any more politics.
03:46 There, there.
03:47 No harm is going to come to me.
03:49 So stop looking as though you're a widow already.
03:52 And remember what poor Richard says.
03:54 If you'd have your guests marry you with cheer,
03:57 be so yourself, or at least so appear.
04:02 Here's your violin, Patrick.
04:03 We're all waiting for you to play.
04:06 Thank you, my dear.
04:07 And what will you have me play?
04:09 Something classical or something you--
04:12 Oh.
04:13 No, it's like a bad neighbor.
04:14 You never can count on him when you need him.
04:16 [laughs]
04:17 We'll not wait for my music.
04:18 Tom, while I'm restringing, sing the song you've
04:20 written for the Sons of Liberty.
04:22 If you wish it, Patrick.
04:23 But the song has been declared reasonable, you know.
04:25 You're in my house, ma'am.
04:27 I'll be responsible.
04:28 Doxie will play it for you, won't you, my dear?
04:31 Oh, of course.
04:32 But close the window.
04:34 It is better to be safe than sorry.
04:43 [music playing]
04:46 (SINGING) Let's unite, soldiers of freedom.
04:51 As we fight, soldiers of freedom.
04:55 For the tyrants defy.
04:59 We'll make liberty our cry.
05:03 Let us live, not to surrender, but to give all to defend her.
05:12 And together we'll stand till liberty rules our land.
05:21 By the sword, tyrants will perish.
05:25 Our reward, freedom we'll cherish.
05:29 For the right we'll command.
05:33 As for liberty, we stand.
05:38 Let us live, not to surrender, but to give all to defend her.
05:46 And together we'll stand.
05:50 Your name, sir?
05:59 Thomas Faulkner.
06:00 Mr. Faulkner, I place you under arrest.
06:03 Upon what warrant, sir?
06:04 On the charge of giving voice to treason and a seditious sentence.
06:07 By whose authority do you enter here in this manner?
06:09 As commissioner and authorized agent
06:11 of his most gracious majesty and imperial sovereign,
06:13 King George III.
06:14 But what right have you to--
06:15 Best have a care, Mr. Henry.
06:18 I have a list of names of those men who are opposed
06:20 to sovereign rule in Virginia.
06:22 Your name is among them.
06:24 Any resistance to authority on your part,
06:26 and I'll place you under arrest also.
06:29 Let's not make it any worse than it is, Patrick.
06:32 I'll go with the commissioner.
06:34 My hat and coat.
06:35 I'll come after you, Tom.
06:37 I'll not let them hold you long.
06:40 What are you going to do, Patrick?
06:42 Everything I can, Peyton.
06:43 This is just one step nearer to the time
06:45 that we must arm ourselves against invasions of this kind.
06:49 I ask your pardon for a short while
06:54 and beg that you make my home yours while I'm gone.
07:04 Promise me you'll-- you'll say nothing
07:06 against the king, Patrick.
07:08 All right.
07:09 Promise.
07:10 Yes.
07:11 Say it.
07:13 I promise you I'll say nothing against the king.
07:15 Now, go inside and see to your guests.
07:17 And trust me to handle this matter wisely.
07:21 [MUSIC PLAYING]
07:25 [SIREN]
07:28 Colonel Washington.
07:53 [MUSIC PLAYING]
07:56 I bring you news from Boston.
07:57 The British soldiers have fired on the citizens there,
07:59 killing three and injuring two.
08:01 Mr. Adams thinks it's time for immediate action.
08:05 He's right.
08:06 Under the conditions, inaction becomes treason.
08:10 Moses, attend to Captain Milton.
08:12 Come with me, Thomas.
08:14 I'm going to write to Patrick Henry.
08:20 Now is the time for him to speak.
08:23 Harm Virginia and the others will follow.
08:26 This is our great moment.
08:28 Do not fail me.
08:30 I am your affectionate friend, George Washington.
08:33 You'll not forget your promise to me, Patrick.
08:39 Is it fair to ask me to keep that promise now?
08:43 This is a moment that can't be lost.
08:46 There are others who can speak for the cause.
08:48 But Washington expects me.
08:51 Who knows?
08:53 This may be the thing that will turn the tide.
08:55 Patrick, think of all you stand to lose.
08:58 Is it fair to all we've built it for these many years?
09:02 What will become of us?
09:03 What will become of us if we stand silent
09:05 and let oppression rule us?
09:07 If the word comes, I'll not be the one to hold you back.
09:12 But let someone else take the initiative.
09:15 You know and I know.
09:17 You've been told by friends, warned by the King's commissioner,
09:21 that any more outbursts will be the warrant for your arrest, imprisonment.
09:26 Your solemn promise to me is the only thing that reassures me.
09:30 You'd best come with me to keep your eye on me.
09:39 No.
09:41 We'd both be safer by my staying home.
09:44 If I went with you,
09:46 you'd be asking me again and again to take the word back.
09:50 I might not be able to say no another time.
09:54 But leaving me with a kiss and a promise,
09:58 I know you'll be true to both.
10:01 I know you'll be true to both.
10:03 Well, why didn't Patrick Henry speak?
10:24 Maybe he was waiting the occasion.
10:26 No, no, there were two or three times when I expected him to claim the floor.
10:29 I was afraid to be holding him back.
10:31 And again, he may not be prepared.
10:33 Oh, Henry not prepared. I've heard him on too many occasions to think that.
10:37 No, it is something else.
10:39 Mr. Henry, I was hopeful you'd address the house today.
10:43 The spirit was not in me, Colonel.
10:45 You're not ill?
10:47 No, there's something lacking in me.
10:50 Cold words, like cold food, are slow to warm the blood.
10:53 How is Mrs. Henry?
10:55 She was quite well when last I saw her, thank you.
10:57 Is she with you?
10:59 No. I wanted her to be here, but for once she elected to remain at home.
11:04 Good day, Colonel.
11:06 Good day, Mr. Henry.
11:08 You're right, Colonel. Something has happened to the man.
11:12 He's not the same person we saw in Philadelphia.
11:15 The doctor would say he needed bleeding or a pill.
11:19 I think I can prescribe for Mr. Henry's ailment.
11:23 If I can be of any help in curing him, I beg you to command me.
11:26 And these are my commands.
11:27 Get me a courier and the swiftest horse in Virginia.
11:32 His wife.
11:34 It's only fair to remind you, Mr. Henry,
11:45 that any speech-making on your part may prove very unwise.
11:55 And now, in conclusion, let me say that our greatest folly lies
11:59 in openly defying the very forces we seek to negotiate with peacefully.
12:04 Not until we have exhausted every known means of conciliation with the Crown
12:09 have we the right to arm against the Crown.
12:12 Let us not sharpen the axe to sever our own head.
12:16 Therefore, I say that we must not arm.
12:19 We must not show belligerence.
12:21 We have not the power, the money, nor the right to dare such a move.
12:26 Let not Virginia become another Boston.
12:30 Virginia must not, shall not take up arms.
12:35 Mr. President.
12:43 The chair recognizes Mr. Patrick Henry, delegate from County Hanover.
12:50 [applause]
12:53 No man, Mr. President, thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism
12:59 as well as the abilities of the very honorable gentlemen
13:02 who have just addressed the House.
13:04 But different men often see the same subject in different lights.
13:08 Therefore, I hope I will not be thought disrespectful to those gentlemen
13:11 if, entertaining as I do, opinions of a character opposite to theirs,
13:16 I speak forth my sentiments freely and without reserve.
13:21 This is no time for ceremony.
13:25 The question before the House is one of awful moment to this country.
13:29 For my part, I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery,
13:35 and in proportion to the magnitude of the subject
13:37 ought to be the freedom of the debate.
13:41 [papers rustling]
13:44 I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided,
13:52 and that is the lamp of experience.
13:55 I know of no way of judging of the future but by the past,
13:59 and judging by the past, I wish to know what there has been
14:02 in the conduct of the British ministry for the last ten years
14:06 to justify those hopes with which the gentlemen have been pleased
14:10 to solace themselves and the House.
14:13 Is it that insidious smile with which our petition has lately been received?
14:18 Trust it not, sir. It will prove a snare to your feet.
14:22 He acts as though he was afraid to speak out.
14:25 Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed by a kiss.
14:28 Your Excellency, I have just come from the church.
14:35 Patrick Henry is making a speech and...
14:37 Very well. I see no reason for further delay.
14:39 You have your order to arrest him.
14:41 Yes, Your Excellency.
14:43 Ask yourselves how this gracious reception of our petition
14:51 comports with the warlike preparations
14:54 which cover our waters and darken our land.
15:01 There are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation.
15:06 Have we shown ourselves so unwilling to be reconciled
15:10 that force must be called in to win back love?
15:14 Let us not deceive ourselves, sir.
15:24 These are the implements of war and subjection,
15:28 the last arguments to which kings resort.
15:31 I ask the gentleman, sir,
15:33 what means this martial array
15:35 if its purpose be not to force us into subjection?
15:38 Can gentlemen assign any other possible motive for it?
15:42 Has Great Britain any enemy in this quarter of the world
15:45 to call for all this accumulation of navies and armies?
15:49 No, sir, she has none.
15:52 They are meant for us, and they can be meant for no other.
15:56 They were sent over to bind and rivet upon us
15:59 those chains which the British ministry had been so long forging.
16:04 And what have we to oppose them?
16:07 Shall we try argument?
16:09 Sir, we have been trying that for the last ten years.
16:12 Have we anything new to offer upon the subject?
16:15 Nothing.
16:17 We have held the subject up to every length of which it is capable,
16:20 but it has been all in vain.
16:23 Shall we resort to entreaty and humble supplication?
16:26 And what terms shall we find which have not already been exhausted?
16:30 Let us not, I beseech you, sir, deceive ourselves longer.
16:34 We have done everything that could be done
16:37 to avert the storm that is now coming on.
16:40 We have petitioned, we have remonstrated,
16:43 we have supplicated, and we have prostrated ourselves before the throne
16:47 and implored its interposition
16:49 to arrest the tyrannical hands of the ministry and parliament.
16:54 Our petitions have been slighted.
16:57 Our remonstrances have produced additional violence and insult.
17:01 Our supplications have been disregarded.
17:04 And we have been spurned with contempt from the foot of the court.
17:08 In vain, after these things,
17:10 may we indulge the pain, hope of peace and reconciliation.
17:14 There is no longer any room for hope.
17:17 If we wish to be free,
17:19 if we mean to preserve in violence those inestimable privileges
17:23 for which we have so long been contending,
17:26 if we mean not to vastly abandon that noble struggle
17:30 in which we have been so long engaged
17:32 and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon
17:36 until the glorious object of our contest has been obtained,
17:40 we must fight!
17:42 I repeat it, sir! We must fight!
17:45 An appeal to arms and the God of hosts is all that is left to us.
17:50 They tell us, sir, that we are weak,
17:52 unable to cope with so formidable an adversary.
17:55 But when will we be stronger?
17:57 Will it be the next week or the next year?
17:59 Will it be when we are totally disarmed
18:02 and when a British guard is stationed in every house?
18:05 Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction?
18:09 Shall we learn the means of effectual resistance
18:12 by lying supinely on our backs and hugging the delusive phantom of hope?
18:17 Fairly are not we if we make use of those means
18:21 which the God of nature hath placed in our power.
18:25 Three millions of people armed in the holy cause of liberty
18:29 and in such a country as that which we possess
18:33 is invincible to any force our army can send against us.
18:37 There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations,
18:42 who will raise up our friends to fight our battles for us.
18:46 The battle, sir, is not to the brave alone.
18:49 It is to the vigilant, the active, the brave!
18:53 Besides, sir, we have no election.
18:57 If we were base enough to desire it,
19:00 it is now too late to retire from the contest.
19:03 There is no retreat but in submission and slavery.
19:07 Our chains are forged.
19:09 Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston.
19:12 The war is inevitable, and let it come!
19:15 I repeat, sir, let it come!
19:18 It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter.
19:20 Gentlemen may cry, "Peace, peace!"
19:23 But there is no peace. The war is actually begun.
19:27 The next gale that sweeps from the north
19:30 will bring to our ears the cracks of resounding arms.
19:33 Our brethren are already in the field.
19:36 Why stand we here idle?
19:39 What is it the gentlemen wish?
19:42 What would they have?
19:44 Is life so dear and peace so sweet
19:48 as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?
19:53 Forbid it, almighty God!
19:56 I know not what course others may take,
19:59 but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!
20:05 Forbid it, almighty God!
20:10 Give me liberty or give me death!
20:15 Forbid it, almighty God!
20:20 When my father died,
20:25 when my father died,
20:30 when my father died,
20:35 freedom, freedom!
20:42 [music]
20:50 [BLANK_AUDIO]