Otis, James (1725–1783)

American politician. He made an effective speech 1761 in support of the liberty of the colonies with regard to taxation. He was one of the organizers of delegates to the Stamp Act Congress 1765.

Otis was born in Barnstaple, Massachusetts. He published 1762 A Vindication of the Conduct of the House of Representatives of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, in which he defended the assembly for its rebuke of the governor for calling upon it to pay for protection against French privateers which it had not sought, and The Rights of the British Colonies Asserted and Proved 1764.