Politics

1776 All-Stars: Patrick Henry Knew To Fear American Kings

Henry's warning about presidential powers is especially prescient today.

Jacob Sullum | From the July 2026 issue

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(Illustration: Joanna Andreasson, ChatGPT-5.4; Source images: Wikimedia)

This is part of 1776 All-Stars, a series about Reason's favorite American Founders. Read more here.

The proposed U.S. Constitution "squints toward monarchy," Patrick Henry complained at the Virginia Ratifying Convention in 1788. "Does not this raise indignation in the breast of every true American? Your president may easily become king."

Henry's warning about presidential powers, which looks especially prescient today, was part of his broader case against James Madison's replacement for the Articles of Confederation. Although Henry lost that battle, his heroic reputation as an early and eloquent advocate of independence earned him a respectful hearing, and his critique helped shape the Bill of Rights.

Madison's plan, Henry warned, repudiated the principles that drove the Revolution. "Here is a revolution as radical as that which separated us from Great Britain," he said. "It is as radical, if in this transition, our rights and privileges are endangered, and the sovereignty of the states be relinquished: and cannot we plainly see, that this is actually the case? The rights of conscience, trial by jury, liberty of the press, all your immunities and franchises, all pretensions to human rights and privileges, are rendered insecure, if not lost, by this change."

The Virginia........

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