James Otis, Jr. was a successful lawyer from Boston, Massachusetts. He played a key role in helping shape the ideology of the American Revolution with his opposition to Writs of Assistance, the Sugar Act, taxation without representation, and the Stamp Act.Nov 15, 2021
OtisOtis refused the fee they offered, saying that in such a cause he despised all fees. In a five-hour speech, which was witnessed by a young John Adams, Otis argued that the writs were unconstitutional. He based his case on the rights guaranteed in English common law.
lawyer James OtisMassachusetts lawyer James Otis (1725––783) so firmly embraced the principle that “a man's house is his castle” that he resigned as his colony's Admiralty Court advocate general when pressed to defend the writs of assistance.
James Otis, (born Feb. 5, 1725, West Barnstable, Mass. [U.S.]—died May 23, 1783, Andover, Mass.), American political activist during the period leading up to the American Revolution. He helped formulate the colonists' grievances against the British government in the 1760s.Feb 1, 2022
Among the grounds the colonists opposed the writs were that they were permanent and even transferable; the holder of a writ could assign it to another; any place could be searched at the whim of the holder; and searchers were not responsible for any damage they caused.
In 1760, governor Bernard of Massachusetts authorized the use by revenue officers of writs of assistance. Writs of assistance were documents which served as a general search warrant, allowing customs officials to enter any ship or building that they suspected for any reason might hold smuggled goods.
James Otis Jr.James OtisOccupationlawyer, political activist, pamphleteer, and legislatorKnown forOration against British writs of assistance February 5, 1761, which catapulted him into the first ranks of Patriot leadersSpouse(s)Ruth Cunningham ​ ( m. 1755)​ChildrenJames, Elizabeth Brown Mary Lincoln8 more rows
During the 1760s, Otis led the intellectual attack against British tyranny, composing ringing defenses of liberty that won Americans to the revolutionary cause and helped to inspire the well-known slogan, “No taxation without representation.”
This evidence still doesn't prove that James Otis, Jr., never owned slaves. He could have done so as a young man, before 1771. He could even have inherited slaves from his father, who died in 1778.Jun 8, 2017
Hutchinson During The Revolutionary War His position made him a natural supporter of royal (and parliamentary) authority, although he opposed the Stamp Act. Nonetheless, in 1765, the worst mob in Boston history gutted his home and destroyed its contents.Aug 15, 2019
Charles Townshend, (born August 27, 1725—died September 4, 1767, London, England), British chancellor of the Exchequer whose measures for the taxation of the British American colonies intensified the hostilities that eventually led to the American Revolution.
This letter, written by Samuel Adams and James Otis, was sent from the Massachusetts House of Representatives to officials of the other colonies in protest of the Townshend Acts. The letter discusses, among other issues, the injustice of imposing taxes on colonists who are not represented in Parliament.