Harrison Gray Otis (1765-1848), American statesman, was one of the most important leaders of the Federalist party after 1801. He epitomized both the urbanity and narrowness of the New England Federalist elite.

Harrison Gray Otis was born on Oct. 8, 1765, into a distinguished colonial family. He moved toward political responsibility and power by means of the usual channels for that time and place; he graduated from Harvard in 1783, studied law, and entered the bar prior to the ratification of the Constitution. By the mid-1790s he had assumed his place in the Massachusetts political hierarchy.

The year 1796 saw Otis move swiftly through the political turbulence to prominence. In the spring he established a nationwide reputation as an orator with a speech in defense of Jay's Treaty. During the next 9 months he successively won election to the Massachusetts Legislature, was appointed by President George Washington as U.S. attorney for Massachusetts...