Give Me Liberty, or Give Me Death

King George III ruled Great Britain from 1760 to 1820, presiding over the British response to colonial calls for independence prior to and during the American Revolution. The conflict emerged in the mid-18th century and centered in large part on “taxation without representation”—a reference to the fact that the colonies were not represented in Parliament—although as tensions escalated, the use of military force to enforce British rule in the colonies further alienated the colonists. The colonists responded with protests and boycotts, and fighting finally broke out between British troops and the colonial militias in 1775, signaling the beginning of the American Revolution. The conflict with the American colonies was a major challenge for George III, and the loss would come to define his reign.

In the context of Patrick Henry’s speech, King George III is a focal point who embodies the colonists’ grievances and bolsters Henry’s depiction of Freedom Versus Tyranny. As a constitutional monarch, George III was arguably less oppressive than most European rulers of the era, who did not have even semi-democratic institutions overseeing their behavior. The actions that the colonies objected to were not unilateral but rather the result of George III acting in concert with Parliament and various advisors. Nevertheless, as the symbol of the distant and uncaring government, George III became a powerful emblem of all that was wrong with British rule and a rallying cry for those who desired to overthrow it.