Actually, it is unlikely that Henry uttered those precise words. The phrase was first attributed to him in 1816, more than 40 years after the revolution. Regardless, Henry’s speech encouraged Virginia legislators to provide troops to the Revolutionary War effort, helping to create the Continental Army less than three months later. After the revolution, Henry became the first governor of the state of Virginia.
The modern American economy traces it is rooted in the quest of European settlers moving to groups for economic gain in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries.
