Which 1775 speech by Patrick Henry ended with the phrase 'Give me liberty, or give me death!'?

Patrick Henry's Liberty or Death speech ended with the famous phrase “Give me liberty, or give me death!”

Henry delivered the speech on March 23, 1775, at the Second Virginia Convention in Richmond. He urged Virginia to prepare for armed resistance against Britain, arguing that the colonies had exhausted peaceful appeals and needed to act decisively.

The speech is remembered for its final sentence, but its broader purpose was political persuasion. Henry supported resolutions calling for Virginia to organize and arm troops. The convention approved those resolutions, helping move Virginia toward active participation in the Revolutionary War.

Historians have debated the exact wording because the speech was not recorded by a stenographer at the time. The familiar text was published decades later by William Wirt in an 1817 biography of Henry. Even with that documentary uncertainty, the speech and its closing line became enduring symbols of revolutionary resistance.