John Otis

This article is about the Maine politician. For the Kansas politician, see John G. Otis .

John Otis (born August 3, 1801 in Leeds , Massachusetts , † October 17, 1856 in Hallowell , Maine ) was an American politician . Between 1849 and 1851 he represented the state of Maine in the US House of Representatives .

Life

John Otis was born in 1801 in Leeds, which was then part of Massachusetts and has been part of Maine since 1820. He attended the public schools of his home country and then until 1823 Bowdoin College in Brunswick . After a subsequent law degree and his admission as a lawyer in 1826, he began to practice in Hallowell in this profession. Politically, he became a member of the Whig Party . In 1841 he was an MP in the Maine House of Representatives . In 1842 he became a member of a commission that determined the northeastern border of the United States. In the same year he was also a member of the Maine Senate . Between 1846 and 1847 Otis was again a member of the State House of Representatives.

In 1848 Otis was elected to the United States House of Representatives in Washington, DC in the third constituency of Maine , where he succeeded Hiram Belcher on March 4, 1849 . Until March 3, 1851 he was able to complete a legislative period in Congress . During this time the state of California was admitted to the union. In addition, there was already considerable tension at this point, also within Congress, over the question of slavery and the admission of new states from the point of view of whether slavery should be allowed or prohibited there.

After his tenure in the House of Representatives, John Otis withdrew from politics. He died on October 17, 1856 in Hallowell and was buried there.

Web links

• John Otis in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• John Otis in the database of Find a Grave (English)