Otis v. Hutchinson III

 Intro: A Moment in Time with Dan Roberts

 Content: The passage of the Stamp Act in 1765 found the colony of Massachusetts in political gridlock between two great families. The Hutchinson clan, allied with royal governor Bernard, was led by Lt. Governor and Superior Court Chief Justice Thomas Hutchinson. On the other  side was the Otis family led by James Otis and his son James, Jr. Up to this time the Hutchinson cabal had held sway and the logjam in politics meant that Massachusetts would likely submit to the collection of the Stamp tax. The news that Virginia had passed a series of resolves condemning the tax spurred into action Boston’s newspapers and a third network of activists who began use violence against the tax collectors and their supporters. This third group was an informal, shadowy assembly who first called themselves the Loyal Nine, but eventually chose the infamous name which went down in history, the Sons of Liberty.