Harrison Gray Otis

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Harrison Gray Otis (1765-1848), American states man, was one of the most important leaders of the Federalist party after 1801. He epitomized both the urbanity and narrowness of the New England Federalist elite.

Harrison Gray Otis was born on Oct. 8, 1765, into a distinguished colonial family. He moved toward political responsibility and power by means of the usual channels for that time and place; he graduated from Harvard in 1783, studied law, and entered the bar prior to the ratification of the Constitution. By the mid-1790s he had assumed his place in the Massachusetts political hierarchy.

The year 1796 saw Otis move swiftly through the political turbulence to prominence. In the spring he established a nationwide reputation as an orator with a speech in defense of Jay's Treaty. During the next 9 months he successively won election to the Massachusetts Legislature, was appointed by President George Washington as U.S. attorney for Massachusetts, stood for election to Congress, and, after winning this seat, resigned his Federal post.

Otis served two terms in the House of Representatives, emerging as a staunch supporter of President John Adams, a fellow Massachusetts man. This loyalty earned him re-appointment to the attorney post in 1801, but President Thomas Jefferson removed him a year later. For many years thereafter Otis held only minor local offices; he took increasingly greater responsibility for restructuring the out-of-power Federalist party.

Otis believed that for the good of the nation the Federalist party must survive. Thus he was one of a handful of leaders who concluded that it would never do to sacrifice the Federalist party in order to save Federalist theory. He emerged in maturity as a pragmatic political leader and was a party manager who "placed a high premium on loyalty, discipline, and close cooperation."

That potent Massachusetts political oligarchy, the Essex Junto, had long since admitted Otis to membership, and he used this connection to retain a prominent spot within the national structure of the Federalist party prior to the War of 1812. His realization that extreme reaction to the war would hurt the Federalist interest led him to oppose the excesses of the Hartford Convention of 1814, of which he was a member. But his was a lonely voice for moderation.

Otis ended his political career by serving in the U.S. Senate (1817-1822) and as mayor of Boston (1829-1832). Thereafter, disillusioned by the turn American political life had taken, he foreswore public service, although he lived on until Oct. 28, 1848.

Further Reading

Samuel Eliot Morison, The Life and Letters of Harrison Gray Otis, Federalist, 1765-1848 (2 vols., 1913), was superseded by his excellent one-volume edition, Harrison Gray Otis, 1765-1848: The Urbane Federalist (1969). One should also consult David H. Fischer, The Revolution of American Conservatism: The Federalist Party in the Era of Jeffersonian Democracy (1965).

Harrison Gray Otis
3rd Mayor of Boston, Massachusetts
In office 1829 – 1831
Preceded by	Josiah Quincy III
Succeeded by	Charles Wells
United States Senator from Massachusetts
In office March 4, 1817 – May 30, 1822
Preceded by	Joseph Bradley Varnum
Succeeded by	James Lloyd
Delegate from Massachusetts to the Hartford Convention
In office 1814 – 1815
President of the Massachusetts Senate
In office 1805 – 1806 1808–1811
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 8th district
In office March 4, 1797 – March 3, 1801
Preceded by	Fisher Ames
Succeeded by	William Eustis
Born	October 8, 1765 Boston, Massachusetts
Died	October 28, 1848 (aged 83) Boston, Massachusetts
Political party	Federalist
Alma mater	Harvard University
Profession	Law

Harrison Gray Otis (October 8, 1765 – October 28, 1848), was a businessman, lawyer, and politician, becoming one of the most important leaders of the United States' first political party, the Federalists.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Gallery 3 References 4 External links

Biography

Otis was born in Boston, Massachusetts to Elizabeth (Gray) and Samuel Allyne Otis. His uncle was Revolutionary War leader James Otis, and his father was active in early American politics as a member of Massachusetts state house of representatives, delegate to Massachusetts state constitutional convention, and Continental Congress delegate from Massachusetts. His aunt was Mercy Otis Warren, a well-known poet. Another descendant was Montgomery Harrison Ritchie, who died in the American Civil War and was the first husband of Cornelia Wadsworth Ritchie Adair.

Otis himself married Sally Foster on May 3, 1780, graduated from Harvard University in 1783, then studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1786, when he commenced practice in Boston. In 1794 he was elected to the Massachusetts legislature, and in 1796 was appointed by President George Washington to be district attorney for Massachusetts. In 1797, he was elected U.S. Representative from Massachusetts as a Federalist and a strong advocate for centralized government, in which office he served until 1801. He was appointed United States district attorney for Massachusetts by President John Adams (1801-1802), and again served in the state legislature from 1802 to 1817, serving several terms as President of the state senate (1805-1806, 1808-1811). In subsequent years, Otis was elected U.S. Senator from Massachusetts (1817-1822), and then Mayor of Boston (1829-1831).

In 1814, in the midst of his political career, he was also named a judge of the court of common pleas (1814-1818), and played a leading role as delegate to the controversial Hartford Convention in which New England's secession from the United States was discussed. It led to the demise of the Federalists. Otis subsequently defended the convention in his Letters Developing the Character and Views of the Hartford Convention (1820) and his Letters in Defence of the Hartford Convention (1824).

Otis was involved in a major financial scandal during the site selection for the Massachusetts State House. Boston was determined to remain the state capitol, and appointed Otis to a town committee to purchase land and donate it to the state. He did so, and also quietly arranged his own private purchase of 18.5 acres (75,000 m²) adjoining from the agent of John Singleton Copley, then living in England. After a decade of legal arguments, the sale was upheld, and Otis and the Mount Vernon Proprietors developed a large part of Beacon Hill.

Otis was an overseer of Harvard University from 1810-1823, and a fellow of the university from 1823-1825, as well as one of the original incorporators of the Boston Bank. During the course of his career, he built not one but three grand houses in quick succession (see Harrison Gray Otis House), all designed by noted architect Charles Bulfinch. He died in Boston on October 28, 1848, and is buried in Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Gallery

2nd Harrison Gray Otis House, Beacon Hill, Boston, Massachusetts.

Mrs. Harrison Gray Otis, by Gilbert Stuart

Harrison Gray Otis' grave at Mount Auburn Cemetery

References

• Samuel Eliot Morison, Harrison Gray Otis, 1765-1848: The Urbane Federalist, 1913. Rev. ed. (2 vols in 1), Boston, Houghton Mifflin, 1969.

External links

• Harrison Gray Otis (lawyer) at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

Political offices
Preceded by Josiah Quincy III	Mayor of Boston, Massachusetts 1829 - 1831	Succeeded by Charles Wells
United States Senate
Preceded by Joseph B. Varnum	United States Senator (Class 2) from Massachusetts 1817 – 1822 Served alongside: Eli P. Ashmun, Prentiss Mellen, Elijah H. Mills	Succeeded by James Lloyd

v • d • e United States Senators from Massachusetts Class 1 Dalton • Cabot • Goodhue • Mason • Adams • Lloyd • Gore • Ashmun • Mellen • Mills • Webster • Choate • Webster • Winthrop • Rantoul • Sumner • Washburn • Dawes • Lodge, Sr. • Butler • Walsh • Lodge, Jr. • J. Kennedy • Smith • E. Kennedy • Kirk Class 2 Strong • Sedgwick • Dexter • Foster • Pickering • Varnum • Otis • Lloyd • Silsbee • Davis • Bates • Davis • Everett • Rockwell • Wilson • Boutwell • Hoar • Crane • J. Weeks • Walsh • Gillett • Coolidge • Lodge, Jr. • S. Weeks • Saltonstall • Brooke • Tsongas • Kerry

v • d • e Mayors of Boston, Massachusetts Phillips • Quincy III • Otis • Wells • Lyman • Armstrong • Eliot • Chapman • Brimmer • Davis • Quincy, Jr. • Bigelow • Seaver • Smith • Rice • Lincoln • Wightman • Lincoln • Norcross • Sturtleff • Gaston • Pierce • Cutter* • Cobb • Prince • Pierce • Prince • Green • Palmer • Martin • O'Brien • Hart • Matthews • Curtis • Quincy • Hart • Collins • Whelton* • Fitzgerald • Hibbard • Fitzgerald • Curley • Peters • Curley • Nichols • Curley • Mansfield • Tobin • Kerrigan* • Curley • Hynes • Collins • White • Flynn • Menino * denotes acting

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