On behalf of the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service, we urge the national attention to be drawn to the public-spirited efforts of the Patrick Henry Memorial Foundation, a nonprofit educational organization, at the Patrick Henry Red HIll National Memorial, near Brookneal, Virginia.

It is particularly fitting to commend this endeavor by the Foundation on the eve of the Bicentennial of the Constitution and the Federal Government. Most people will recall that Patrick Henry's clarion voice electrified the movement for national independence, in phrases that echo even today from the mouths of schoolchildren. His decisive influence in the debate over ratification of the Federal Constitution, however, is equally worthy of remembrance. henry opposed the Constitution when it came to the States for ratification; it was his leadership in the Virginia convention, and that of like-minded individuals in his State and others, that led to the adoption of the Bill of Rights.

The Patrick Henry Red HIll National Memorial, unlike many national memorials, is not in the Nation's Capital, but in the Virginia countryside, southwest of Richmond. it is intimately related to Henry, for it includes the property that was the last home of the renowned patriot -- between 1794 and his death on June 6, 1799. Henry and his second wife, Dorothea Dandridge, are buried at Red Hill, where his last law office and his final home, the latter reconstructed on its original foundations, are also preserved. The visitor center at Red hill houses a large collection of books and literature pertaining to Henry's life. The Foundation's other programs include seminars, exhibits, and publications devoted to Henry's career.