The Founding Father Who Kept His Wife Locked In A Basement For 4 Years
A champion of freedom turned to unconventional methods when his spouse developed mental health issues
Early American statesman Patrick Henry is best known in the annals of history for passionately exclaiming, “Give me liberty or give me death,” when attending the second Virginia Convention to discuss possible independence from Britain. Sadly, in a cruel twist of irony, the champion of freedom locked his mentally ill first wife in their cellar until her untimely death as an alternative to her being committed to an insane asylum.
Born in 1736, Henry was a self-educated lawyer who became such a prominent citizen of Virginia that he served in their House of Delegates and later became the state’s first governor. He was staunchly opposed to large federal governments, to the point that he wasn’t even in favor of the United States ratifying their Constitution for fear it would create too powerful a n entity. However, he was even more against the English continuing their rule over Americans.
His impassioned style of public speaking, particularly on the top of independence (despite being a slave owner) brought him great notoriety. In retrospect, his ideas on the importance of freedom clearly were narrowly defined.
