Collected Political Writings of James Otis

Daniel Dulany’s 1765 pamphlet is a direct response to the arguments Otis and other patriots advanced. While Dulany agreed that Parliament should not impose taxes on the colonies without consent, he argued within a Loyalist framework, emphasizing legal and constitutional loyalty to Britain.

Charles Howard McIlwain critiques James Otis for inconsistently blending natural rights theory with English constitutional law. McIlwain argues that Otis attempted to justify colonial resistance by appealing both to the inalienable rights of individuals and the traditional rights of Englishmen—two…

In this pamphlet, Otis outlines his core political philosophy, arguing that taxation without representation is a violation of both natural law and the British constitution. It captures his belief in universal rights and limited government—key themes that appear throughout his collected works. This…

This writing is connected through its shared opposition to British taxation without colonial representation. Dickinson echoed Otis’s earlier arguments—especially the idea that external taxes imposed by Parliament violated colonial rights. While Dickinson took a more moderate tone, both writers…

John Locke’s book is a key philosophical foundation for James Otis’ Collected Political Writings. Locke’s ideas about natural rights, government by consent, and the right to resist tyranny deeply influenced Otis’s arguments against British authority. Otis drew on Locke’s social contract theory to…