PATRICK HENRY - A CROSSING ZONE THEORY OF RELATEEVEETY

Usually on my birthday, I celebrate myself.  Then I thought – perhaps I should celebrate somebody who was born on the same day – so long as they had a Toobworld presence.  First who came to mind was Nathan Hale. (‘The Young Rebels’ was one incarnation of the Revolutionary War hero.)  But then, back in December, I discovered an historical personage with whom I could run one of my “Crossing Zone” posts.

Only thing was, he died on a June 6^th……

From Wikipedia:
Patrick Henry (May 29, 1736 – June 6, 1799) was an American attorney, planter, and orator well known for his declaration to the Second Virginia Convention (1775): "Give me liberty, or give me death!" A Founding Father, he served as the first and sixth post-colonial Governor of Virginia, from 1776 to 1779 and from 1784 to 1786.

Henry was born in Hanover County, Virginia, and was for the most part educated at home. After an unsuccessful venture running a store, and assisting his father-in-law at Hanover Tavern, Henry became a lawyer through self-study. Beginning his practice in 1760, he soon became prominent though his victory in the Parson's Cause against the Anglican clergy. Henry was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses, where he quickly became notable for his inflammatory rhetoric against the Stamp Act of 1765.

In 1774 and 1775, Henry served as a delegate to the First and Second Continental Congresses, but did not prove particularly influential. He gained further popularity among the people of Virginia, both through his oratory at the convention and by marching troops towards the colonial capital of Williamsburg after the Gunpowder Incident until the munitions seized by the royal government were paid for. Henry urged independence, and when the Fifth Virginia Convention endorsed this in 1776, served on the committee charged with drafting the Virginia Declaration of Rights and the original Virginia Constitution. Henry was promptly elected governor under the new charter, and served a total of five one-year terms.

After leaving the governorship in 1779, Henry served in the Virginia House of Delegates until he began his last two terms as governor in 1784. The actions of the national government under the Articles of Confederation made Henry fear a strong federal government and he declined appointment as a delegate to the 1787 Constitutional Convention. He actively opposed the ratification of the Constitution, a fight which has marred his historical image. He returned to the practice of law in his final years, declining several offices under the federal government. A slaveholder throughout his adult life, he hoped to see the institution end, but had no plan for that beyond ending the importation of slaves. Henry is remembered for his oratory, and as an enthusiastic promoter of the fight for independence.

‘DANIEL BOONE’
“LOVE AND EQUITY”

At the end of the episode, Patrick Henry showed up at the fort to hand out flyers which promoted his candidacy for Congress.  (In the real world, Henry was a citizen of the commonwealth of Virginia but maybe in Toobworld that included “Kaintucky” for a time.)

So how am I making this a connection to ‘The Twilight Zone’?

Here’s a little fact about Patrick Henry from one of his biographers:

As historian Richard Beeman put it, Henry was a man who "did not bother to write much of anything down", a handicap when being evaluated by history.[178] The lack of primary source materials regarding Henry—only a handful of papers and a few of his speeches survive—has frustrated Henry's biographers from Wirt (1817) to Beeman (1974): Wirt commented two years before publishing his book, "It is all speaking, speaking, speaking. 'Tis true he could talk—Gods! how he could talk! but ... to make the matter worse, from 1763 to 1789 ... not one of his speeches lives in print, writing or memory".(Wikipedia)

Patrick Henry was portrayed by Liam Sullivan, who played another TV character known for his excessive talking…..

‘THE TWILIGHT ZONE’
“THE SILENCE”

From the IMDb:
Annoyed by a club member's constant chatter, a man bets him he cannot remain silent for a year, living in a glass enclosure in the club basement.

Jamie Tennyson is an overly talkative member of a private men's club. He is challenged by fellow member Col. Archie Taylor to keep his mouth shut for one year. Should he do so, he would win $500,000. Taylor dislikes Tennyson and if nothing else, finds this a way to get a bit of peace and quiet at the club. Tennyson will live in a room in the club, under observation and will communicate in writing only. As the months go by, Taylor begins to worry that Tennyson may just succeed. He can't believe Tennyson's will but neither party proves to be completely honorable.
Written by garykmcd

I’m thinking we have a case of two Toobworld conventions in play here: “Born To Rerun” (reincarnation) and a Theory of “Relateeveety” (family trees and the like).

We’ve seen fictional TV characters being related to real people, either League of Themselves celebrities or historical portrayals.  He may not have started out as a TV character, but Sherlock Holmes is a good example of a historical theory of relateeveety.  He claimed to be related to the painter Vernet.  So I’m going to add Jamie Tennyson to the mix, having him be descended from Patrick Henry.

But telegenetics wouldn’t be a reason for Tennyson to be as chatty as Patrick Henry.  I don’t think it’s in our DNA.  But then there is the “Born To Rerun” theory, in which the soul of one TV character could be reborn as another, years later.  And that would include historical figures.  My favorite of these theories would be the Emperor Claudius who was reborn as a Chicago psychologist named Dr. Robert Hartley.

So not only was Jamie Tennyson descended from Patrick Henry (in Toobworld, of course), but he was also the soul of the patriot reborn.

And that’s my tip of the hat to a man who died 220 years ago today.

Happy birthday to me!