Speech in the Virginia Convention / Patrick Henry

Test Practice

Identify Author’s Purpose

With your partner, discuss how to answer these questions about the author’s purpose.

1. What was the purpose of this speech?
a. to convince the Virginia Convention to seek peace with Great Britain
b. to identify the problems with the Stamp Act
c. to persuade the Virginia Convention that war was necessary for liberty
d. to entertain the convention with his brilliant rhetoric


What is the correct answer to the above question? How did the information you gathered while reading help you eliminate incorrect answers?

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