Anyone have a spare copy of...

[mikelewis]

“A Vindication of the Conduct of ihe House of Representatives,” by James Otis lying around somewhere on the net. I've searched high and low and can't find the text of this pamphlet.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

1. wow. I just googled it, and no luck. when you find a copy, let me know..

I'd like to borrow it! :)

[pnorman]

2. I had never heard of it until now.

Google yielded ONE hit, so your search doesn't look too promising. But that hit contains a wealth of information! Here it is: http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1962/2/1962_2_36.shtml
Thanks for leading me to that. Later on, I'll Google James Otis. After that, I'll Google out from him. I've been a passionate student of history all my life; particularly US history. (I probably won't wait till tomorrow to get started).

THANK ALL THE GODS THAT DU IS BACK UP!!!

pnorman

[mikelewis]

3. That's an awesome article, if Otis were around today, he'd have a thing..

or two to say about Bush's domestic spying program and the whole host of other offenses.

[TahitiNut]

4. Do you mean "The Rights of the Colonies Vindicated" ?

He was a pre-revolutionary (1725-1783) and wouldn't be talking about the House of Representatives as far as I know.

I see the American Heritage entry with the reference ...

The constitutional views which Otis first expounded in the writs of assistance case were given more elaborate formulation in a forceful political tract, “A Vindication of the Conduct of ihe House of Representatives,” which he published in 1762. Therein he enunciated the Whig view that all men are naturally equal, and that kings are made to serve the people, not people the ends of kings.

What House of Representatives?? In 1762?? I find that puzzling.

On edit -
Oh, I see ... "... and late in 1762 published his first political pamphlet, A Vindication of the Conduct of the House of Representatives of the Province of the Massachusetts-Bay,..."
Not the federal House, but the provincial House.

Sorry. :dunce:

[mikelewis]

5. He was referring to Parliment...

When he referred to the House of Representatives, he was referring to the English Parliment. It was a pamphlet that may have provided the ideological foundation for the Revolution. Many of the sentiments expressed in the Declaration of Independence were first made public by James Otis.

"The constitutional views which Otis first expounded in the writs of assistance case were given more elaborate formulation in a forceful political tract, “A Vindication of the Conduct of ihe House of Representatives,” which he published in 1762. Therein he enunciated the Whig view that all men are naturally equal, and that kings are made to serve the people, not people the ends of kings."
http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1962/2/1962_2_36.shtml

I was wondering if this was the Pamphlet Adams wrote about when he described the drafting of the Declaration of Independence.

"As you justly observe, there is not an idea in it but what had been hackneyed in Congress for two years before. The substance of it is contained in the declaration of rights and the violation of those rights in the Journals of Congress in 1774. Indeed, the essence of it is contained in a pamphlet, voted and printed by the town of Boston, before the first Congress met, composed by James Otis, as I suppose, in one of his lucid intervals, and pruned and polished by Samuel Adams."
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/jefferson.htm

I can find no copy of it on the net, which is sad. You'd think Otis's writings would be available.

[mikelewis]

8. Now that I look at it...

The American heritage is wrong. He didn't argue the divine equality of man in his pamphlet on Parlimen, it was in "The Rights of the British Colonies Asserted and Proved." were he argued that the power of Government is derived through the Governed.

This must be the pamphlet Adams was refering to in his letter to Pickering. I still find it odd that no text of his "Vindication of the House of Representatives" is available online. If I find a copy, maybe I can OCR it and post it on Wikipedia.

[pnorman]

6. I copy/pasted the title without proof-reading it first.

Google gave me that one hit, and I immediately went there. I double-checked a few minutes after my posting, and saw where Google had asked me: "Did you mean ....?. So I tried that one, and got THIS: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rls=GGGL,GGGL:2005-09,GGGL:en&q=%E2%80%9CA+Vindication+of+the+Conduct+of+the+House+of+Representatives%22&spell=1

DAMN!!! I'll NEVER get to sleep!!

pnorman
On edit: further Googling yielded this: http://www.bookrags.com/ebooks/722/ ("James Otis, the pre-revolutionist by John Clark Ridpath") In all likelihood, the book itself is available online somewhere, but I'll call it a night at this point. (I have other affairs that need looking after).

[lindisfarne]

7. I just sent you a private message.

[pk_du]

9. If your local library has access to OPAC you can download a copy

...see here.

http://www.readex.com/scholarl/eai_digi.html

[pk_du]

10. Good looking online book about him here too...

http://www.worldwideschool.org/library/books/hst/biography/JamesOtisThePre-Revolutionist/chap1.html