When Patrick Henry was a boy, no one dreamed that history would know him as the "Lion of Liberty." He hated books and spent his time hunting and fishing. By the time he was 23, he had failed twice as a storekeeper and once as a tobacco farmer, but had a wife and two children to support. Then he became a lawyer, and there was no stopping him.

Henry became the best trial lawyer in Virginia and the greatest orator in the colonies. His success in the Parson's Cause case made him a local celebrity. His speech against the hated British Stamp Act brought him national fame. He was a firebrand who called King George a "tyrant." Henry was a man of the people who boldly said what other people were thinking.

Bill Young portrays Henry in the last year of his life as he reflects on his childhood, two marriages, religious convictions, love of children, various careers, and key contributions to the formation of the United States. The talk also includes excerpts from Henry's best known speeches.

Bill's costume is copied from a portrait of Henry and includes a scarlet cloak like Henry wore when he was Virginia's first elected governor. The people insisted that Henry wear the same type cloak that all of the royal governors before him had worn. The cloak showed that the power of the king had become the power of the people.

Listen to Patrick Henry as he gives the call to arms and as his "Liberty or Death" speech becomes a rallying cry for the colonies. His words still stir the blood and ring as true today as they did in 1775. When you hear Bill Young as Patrick Henry, you will understand why history calls Henry the "Lion of Liberty."