Or Give Me Death

Patrick Henry is a wealthy and well-known man who supports the American patriot cause for independence from Britain, their mother country. Being well-known man and a supporter for independence, he is led away from his family often. This is believed to be one reason why his wife goes insane. He uses the phrase, "Give me Liberty or Give me Death!" which he took from his wife when she asked for freedom. Supposedly, his wife has the gift of the sight and predicts his death. After her wife dies, he mourns for two weeks and goes back out to speak in order to help win the war. When John goes off to war, he becomes close to Dorothea Dandridge. Unknowingly, Pa marries John's love. Soon after marrying her, he becomes governor. When he learns that John loved his wife well before he did, he writes a letter to John letting him know of the wedding. However, John never opens it because he reads Anne's first. The thought of his loved one marrying his father causes him to start losing his mind as well.

Sarah, a woman with an aristocratic background descended from Alfred the Great, is Patrick Henry's wife and a mother of 6. Before she loses her mind, she is a respectable wife and mother. She follows the rules that all women in her time period followed. This included never admitting her love for her husband because "it was not consistent with the perfection of female delicacy" (65) which she learned in the book The Ladies Library. This included being delicate and motherly as well as dressing modestly. However, she starts losing herself and is said to have the sight. She tells of the deaths and future which all come true. Towards the end of her life, she tells her husband "Oh, Patrick, give me my freedom or let me die!". Anne hears her mother say those very words and her father mimic them in a speech after her death.

Patsy is the oldest of the 6 children at 16 years old and is in a relationship with MyJohn. She is the typical girl in her time. Like an obedient lady, she sews and shows proper behavior. However, she often scolds her siblings, especially Anne, when they don't follow her rules. When Mama, Sarah, goes insane, Patsy becomes the head of the household. She controls the house when her father is away and takes the role her mother once had. She has a short temper and doesn't trust the slaves, especially Pegg. As the slaves become more bold, she believes that they are trying to poison her, so she forces Pegg to take a sip before serving to the family. While she breaks the rule of wearing silk in the house and drinking tea, she also thinks that she deserves full command of the house while her father is out. She is often portrayed as hard-headed and demanding.

John is 15 and the second oldest of the 6. He inherits his mother's bad blood. However, this is not revealed until the very end of the book. His sister, Anne, protects him from the wrath of Patsy and claims that she has inherited the bad blood. John secretly sees Dorothea Dandridge, knowing that his father would disapprove of such a marriage. Later on in the novel, he goes off to fight in the Revolutionary War and Pa and Dorothea become close. Eventually, they get married and Anne is told to write a letter to John telling him of the wedding.

William is eight at the start of the book and the third oldest.

Anne is seven at the start of the book and the fourth oldest in the family. Her stubborn attitude, free spirit, and love for riding horses causes her to get in trouble with her older sister, Patsy. As a form of rebellion against Patsy's ruling and spreading word about the cruel and unjust treatments Estave put his slave through, she starts writing articles with a fake name, Intrepid. However, she is stopped when Patsy finds out about her actions. In the second half of the book, we are told the story through her eyes. At a young age, she is told many secrets and has to keep them, thinking that it was for the best. She, too, is called dead by her mother, and the thought bothers her constantly. In the end, she questions whether keeping all those secrets was really worth the price.

Betsy is the second to youngest and is two at the start of the book. As a child, she mainly raised without her mother. Under the strict eye of Patsy, she becomes the ideal girl of her time and is able to mind her own business. She is seen as the opposite of Anne due to her obedience that Anne often lacks with Patsy. Anne tries to break how Patsy raises Betsy up by playing games. However, Betsy often only cracks a smile at the most.

Edward is the baby in the family and is the only one who escapes from Patsy's strict wrath. The book opens up with Edward getting dumped into cold water by Mama. Because his mother goes crazy, he is fed by a slave against the will of Mama.

MyJohn is Patsy's boyfriend and husband later on in the novel. He is well-liked by everyone, especially Anne. Unlike Patsy, he is kind and gentle but still able to keep things under control. He is one of the only people Patsy listens aside from her father. MyJohn has a great influence in the Henry family being Patsy's husband and with Patrick Henry gone fighting for independence through speeches, he manages a lot of what goes on as well and works hard on the plantation.

Pegg is the main slave in the household and is the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter. While disliked by Patsy, Pegg and Anne get along well. She is more gentle with the children and earns some authority with the children when Patsy realizes she can't handle it by herself. Pegg is related to Neely which leads Mrs. Hooper to the assumption that the Henrys' slaves were writing letters in the newspaper. Neely is let into the house secretly by Pegg without Patsy knowing. She goes with Neely to try to gain freedom from Neely's master, Estave, and possibly escape as well. Anne keeps it a secret and Pegg's daughter helps with cooking while Pegg is out. However, Patsy is told that Pegg is sulking in her room because Patsy accused her of wanting to poison her. Anne and Pegg's daughter grows closer while Pegg is gone and awaits the news. In the end, Pegg comes back and Neely is beaten to death by her master.

Spencer Roane befriends Anne. He talks to Anne about things she actually is interested in such as horses. Anne fancies Spencer because he doesn't treat her like a delicate child.

Mrs. Hooper is a critical and strict woman, but carries herself like women were supposed to in her time. She blames the Henry family's slaves for writing letters in the newspaper that Anne writes with a fake name, causing Anne to stop writing letters that address the harsh treatment that the slaver girl, Neely, was put through.

Sarah Hallam and Jonathan Snead run away from home and try to find someone who will marry them. However, Sarah's aunt, Mrs. Hooper, tells everyone through the Gazette not to marry them. Anne and William meet them on the way back from the Hoopers' dancing school. When Patrick comes home, he asks Reverend Henry, his uncle, to marry the two officially. They marry in the house of Patrick Henry.

Clementina is a friend of Patsy's, a wife, and eventually a widow in debt. She listens and can be viewed as a shoulder to lean on when Patsy's family problems are talked about. Her future is also predicted by Patsy's mother and is told that her husband would die and leave her in debt. Like all Patsy's mother's predictions, it comes true. She dies from working too hard trying to pay off the debts her husband left behind when he died.