Statues: The People They Salute
ON THIS DAY The Battle of Monmouth/ Fourth Amendment Defender James Otis Jr.
Fourth Amendment:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
James Otis Jr. argued for the Fourth Amendment (unreasonable search & seizures) in Boston before we had even declared independence from Great Britain. He was physically assaulted for continuing to speak out against Great Britain’s policies of “taxation without representation.”
James Otis Jr. argued a case in 1761 against the “writs of assistance” which had attempted to authorize the search and seizure of anything deemed unauthorized by the writ given to just about anyone who requested one. The writs were overly broad, and meant no one’s private property was safe. James Otis Jr. did not win the judicial argument ( surprise 🙄 the British monarchy disagreed) however James Otis Jr. continued to speak out against the policies the crown imposed on the colonies without representation. Otis even paid for a piece in the newspaper naming those who were distorting his good name. One night in 1765, he dared to enter an establishment in Boston “The British Coffee House” where his opposition gathered. That night he was welcomed with a beating that nearly killed him. He did not die, but he was never the same. The strikes to his head had an impact on his brain, and he was limited in his ability to argue against tyranny.
James Otis Jr. was the brother of Mercy Otis Warren, who wrote poems, plays and more about the tyranny being inflicted on the colonists. (Freedom loving brother and sister who did not keep silent!) Statue of Mercy is below...
Pictured is a statue of James Otis Jr. located steps away from a statue of his sister Mercy near the Barnstable County Courthouse in Massachusetts.
Sadly, James Otis Jr. died in 1783, in dramatic fashion. Otis was struck by lightning while standing in his doorway. Can you believe he said to his sister, Mercy, only weeks before his death, “My dear sister, I hope, when God Almighty in his righteous providence shall take me out of time into eternity that it will be with a flash of lightning.”
“America has fought for the boon of liberty…Guard it on every side that it might not be sported away by the folly of the people or the intrigue or deception of their rulers." – Mercy Otis Warren
MERCY OTIS WARREN wrote poems, plays and other pieces critical of the British rule. Prior to 1790, she published anonymously (hmmm...wonder why? 😉) Born in Barnstable, Massachusetts in 1728, Mercy had correspondence with Abigail Adams, Martha Washington, Hannah Winthrop, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington and John Adams. Her history of the Revolutionary War in three volumes entitled “History of the Rise, Progress and Termination of the American Revolution” was published in 1805. (John Adams, who had encouraged Mercy to write the history...was not happy with how she portrayed him..they had a falling out. Guess history is tricky to record and make everyone happy 😉)
This statue is located in Barnstable, Massachusetts. Mercy holds a book in one hand & a quill in the other...sometimes words are more powerful than swords 😉🇺🇸
ON THIS DAY the Battle of Monmouth was fought in 1778. General Anthony Wayne was one of George Washington’s valued commanders that day... General Charles Lee...not so much...
After Washington’s uncharacteristic loss of temper directed at Charles Lee for retreating from his ordered position, Washington placed part of Lee's original force under the command of Wayne.
This statue of General Anthony Wayne is located at Valley Forge where he wintered with George Washington in 1778. During the encampment, George Washington relied heavily on Wayne’s leadership, saying, “In Wayne the spark of daring might flame into rashness, but it was better to have such a leader and occasionally to cool him to caution than forever to be heating the valor of men who feared they would singe their plooms in battle”. (Perhaps an indication of the nickname “Mad Anthony” 😉)
Diana Erbio is a freelance writer and author of “Coming to America: A Girl Struggles to Find her Way in a New World”. Visit her on Facebook and read her blog series “Statues: The People They Salute” . Subscribe to her Substack Newsletter
Statues: The People They Salute
Great piece of history!