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Bay Stater to Virginian: Suck it, good sir
By adamg on Thu, 03/10/2011 - 11:22am
The Bay Stater was John Adams and the Virginian was a guy who wrote a book that seemed to claim Virginia was more important to the Revolution than Massachusetts. J.L. Bell discusses and posts a copy of Adams's remonstrance, which focused on James Otis, at the center of the writs-of-assistance case in the 1760s:
I envy none of the well merited glories of Virginia, or any of her sages or heroes. But, sir, I am jealous, very jealous, of the honour of Massachusetts.
The resistance to the British system, for subjugating the colonies, began in 1760, and in the month of February, 1761, James Otis electrified the town of Boston, the province of Massachusetts bay, and the whole continent, more than Patrick Henry ever did in the whole course of his life. If we must have panegyrics and hyperboles, I must say, that if Mr. Henry was Demosthenes, and Mr. Richard Henry Lee, Cicero, James Otis was Isaiah and Ezekiel United.
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Comments
Kissy Kissy
Well, our Johnny clearly had a huge man-crush on Jimmy. Following through literature, particularly a biggy at Project Gutenberg, is most amusing.
At its base, Adams' comments read puerilely, as in my orator is bigger than your orator. Let's put them on the table and measure. His writings on the subject were extraordinary parochial even for a New Englander.
This Otis was apparently charming and a speaker of great stamina, if not effectiveness. For one key example, he held forth for five hours on those acts in question, but did not convince the court and lost the case. He also wrote several impressive political tracts. Adams' emotions aside, there may well be solid reasons why so many view Henry more favorably.
Virginians also suffer from parochialism. Mother of the Presidents, key battlegrounds in both Revolutionary and Civil Wars and all that gives it some bragging rights too.
The best at reading the period pieces is seeing Adams' pettiness. He certainly was in our shared human domain.