•Why it earns a slot
The line every American schoolchild learns, delivered as the closing punch of a real floor speech arguing that hope itself had become a strategic error.
In a speech to the Virginia Convention on March 23, 1775, Patrick Henry argues against continued hope for reconciliation with Britain, reading the buildup of British fleets and troops as unmistakable preparation for war. He concludes that petitioning has been exhausted and that armed resistance is the only remaining option.
This distillation is written from the freely available original, which is always the better read when you have the time: gutenberg.org.