Josiah Quincy (February 23, 1744-April 26, 1775) was an American Revolutionary patriot, lawyer, and orator of freedom. He wrote many patriotic articles and signed them, "An Independent" or, "An Old Man." His most notable work was Observations of the Act of Parliament Commonly called the Boston Port Bill with Thoughts on Civil Society and Standing Arms, 1774. Josiah Quincy was sent on a mission to England to argue the cause of the Colonists in 1774, and during his return trip, April 26, 1775, he died at sea. His son, Josiah Quincy, (1772-1864), was a U.S. Representative, 1805-18; and president of Harvard, 1829-45.
In response to the 1774 closing of the Boston harbor by the British, Josiah Quincy declared:
<Blandishments will not fascinate us, nor will threats of a "halter" intimidate. For, under God, we are determined that wheresoever, whensoever, or howsoever we shall be called to make our exit, we will die free men.> 1744JQ001
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American Quotations by William J. Federer, 2024, All Rights Reserved, Permission granted to use with acknowledgement.
Endnotes:
1744JQ001. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Josiah Quincy, 1774, speaking in response to the closing of the Boston harbor by the British. John Bartlett, Bartlett's Familiar Quotations (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1863, 1980), p. 393. Peter Marshall and David Manuel, The Glory of America (Bloomington, MN: Garborg's Heart'N Home, Inc., 1991), 2.10.