Independence Day
What an amazing weekend celebrating our Independence. I love this holiday because it causes us to reflect on how lucky we are to be born in such a great country. Right now, I’m kinda obsessed with Patrick Henry and wanted to write about him, but thought, who am I to write about such an amazing historical figure? I’m no history expert; I barely remember anything I learned about him in school. But then I thought there is one thing I do consider myself an expert at: being an entrepreneur and a businesswoman. So what does Independence or Patrick Henry have to do with entrepreneurship or business?
Everything!!!
In my mind, Patrick Henry did two incredibly amazing things in his life:
He gave people the confidence to declare war for our freedom.
Once we had our freedom, he stood up to his friends and colleagues, fighting against the signing of the Constitution as it was written.
Both of these things have an incredible impact on our lives today. The first one is pretty obvious: if we never fought for our liberty and freedom against Great Britain, we wouldn't have the same kind of democracy and capitalism that we all enjoy now. But to me, just as significant is Henry standing up to his friends, colleagues, and people he respected, like Alexander Hamilton and James Madison. Patrick Henry refused to sign the Constitution and led efforts to prevent ratification.
Why would he fight against all the people who fought with him to gain independence? Why would he risk his reputation and favor to fix something that was pretty good on its own? Because to Henry, it wasn't good enough, and he deeply cared about freedom and liberty. Patrick saw firsthand how a faraway, out-of-touch government, even with some representation, could become so powerful that they infringed on what Henry believed to be “natural rights.”
So Patrick Henry and a group of Anti-Federalists came up with the Bill of Rights. These amendments were put in place to limit the power of the federal government.
"The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government.”
This gave the power to govern to the states and the people. Why is this important to us? Because a place with a large centralized government is not where innovation thrives. This “self-governance” essentially paves the way for a wonderful future for entrepreneurs and the pursuit of the American Dream.
I hope as we continue to strive in business and cherish our entrepreneurial spirit, we remember the courage and tenacity of Patrick Henry. I hope we continue to fight for freedom and liberty, that we remain grateful for our country, but never stop trying to make it better.
“The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave.” - Patrick Henry
