Summary Of Patrick Henry Shall Liberty

In Patrick Henry’s Shall Liberty or Empire Be Sought? (1788) He expresses deep concerns about the government's ability to maintain its ideals over time. Henry starts off by saying “But how different is the genius of your new Constitution from this!” This statement begs the reader to question how long their current government will be maintained. He wants to show his worries about the future and what that would mean for others and himself. He is concerned about three things, the future of the loss of individual liberties; the mass amounts of power that might be in the hands of the wrong people. Lastly, the slow corruption of individual rights in the hands of people in power. These concerns, however, are still valid even in modern-day America.
“If, sir, amendments are left to the twentieth, or tenth part of the people of America, your liberty is gone for ever.” ii He feared that tyranny would take control and the liberty they had fought for would be lost. “When the American spirit was in its youth, the language of America was different; liberty, sir, was then the primary object.”iii That concern is still valid today as the people become more aware of government overreach and what it could mean going forward. With a fresh government, these holes would have to be watched carefully to prevent it from happening. A primary example of this today is COVID-19. “Facial recognition programmes have been expanded, internet censorship has occurred in 28 countries, and internet shutdowns in 13. At least 120 contact-tracing apps are in use across 71 states, and 60 other digital contact-tracing measures have been used across 38 countries.”iv The government's overreach during times of emergency is infringing on someone's liberty and choice, especially if that power is being