Patrick Henry made this statement in his speech at the Virginia Ratifying Convention. The purpose of the speech was to explain why he opposed ratifying the Constitution without a Bill of Rights. Quotation taken from a 1788 speech by Patrick Henry at the Virginia Ratifying Convention. It says, Have we the means of resisting disciplined armies, when our only defense, the militia, is put into the hands of Congress? © 2013 FLVS Why did Patrick Henry make this statement at the Virginia Ratifying Convention? To support the idea that Congress would be better at managing a military than the people would To support the idea that the people need a right to bear arms as a means of defending themselves To emphasize the importance of state militias in international conflicts To emphasize that Congress had no power to create or direct the military

Question

Patrick Henry made this statement in his speech at the Virginia Ratifying Convention. The purpose of the speech was to explain why he opposed ratifying the Constitution without a Bill of Rights.  Quotation taken from a 1788 speech by Patrick Henry at the Virginia Ratifying Convention. It says, Have we the means of resisting disciplined armies, when our only defense, the militia, is put into the hands of Congress? © 2013 FLVS  Why did Patrick Henry make this statement at the Virginia Ratifying Convention?   To support the idea that Congress would be better at managing a military than the people would  To support the idea that the people need a right to bear arms as a means of defending themselves  To emphasize the importance of state militias in international conflicts  To emphasize that Congress had no power to create or direct the military

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Patrick Henry made this statement at the Virginia Ratifying Convention to emphasize the importance of the people's right to bear arms as a means of defending themselves. He opposed ratifying the Constitution without a Bill of Rights because he believed that without explicit protections for individual liberties, the government could potentially become too powerful and infringe upon the rights of the people. Henry was specifically concerned about Congress having the power to control the militia, as he believed that a well-regulated militia composed of the people themselves was essential for the defense of their rights and liberties. By making this statement, Henry sought to highlight the potential dangers of centralizing power in the hands of Congress and the need for the people to have the means to resist any potential abuse of that power.