Loss of Health:
Emotional Volatility & Alcohol Abuse
While at the height of his influence, Otis sometimes worked so hard he forgot to eat or sleep. After the caning, Otis’ mental illness pushed him into even unhealthier emotional and physical habits.
Blunt Force Trauma
When John Robinson beat Otis with his cane in September of 1769, Otis was left bleeding from a gash on his head. Otis’ wound was so deep and impressive that Adams later described Otis showing off to his friends: “‘Look upon this head!’ (where was a scar, in which a man might bury his finger.)”
Otis’ head injury only exacerbated his sometimes odd behavior. While he’d had mood swings before the caning, his whole personality was now foreign to those around him. He remained headstrong and principled, but his speech patterns changed; once been concise, he was now long-winded, and his mind wandered “like a Ship without an Helm.”
His actions changed, too; in one anecdote, Otis ordered his servant to bring his horse to him a whole hour before he was ready to leave, and then spent the night running frantically through different doors and even leaping through windows.
Walking Stick, 1774
Eighteenth century walking sticks were made of dense wood that could deal serious damage.
2003.285.a
Cleveland Museum of Art
Drowning His Sorrows
With his world unraveling, Otis drank heavily. Various accounts mention his drunkenly wandering the streets in the 1770s, and his contemporaries noticed that even a few glasses of wine caused him to lose self-control.
While inebriated, the cracks in Otis’ mental health grew wider. Early one morning in 1770, he called on his long-time political adversary Thomas Hutchinson to apologize for his behavior and ask for forgiveness, smelling strongly of rum. In 1778, he was even witnessed trading his once beloved law books for liquor.
By the end of the decade, Otis’ alcohol abuse was known to all.
“[Otis] now appears among the lowest ranks and whenever he can have an unrestrained access to his glass he appears perfectly delirious."
Wine bottle, ca. 1760
Visitors to the Colonies noted that Americans drank a lot! Beer, cider, and rum were made in Massachusetts, and wine was imported from Europe. Although heavy drinking was expected, society disapproved of Otis’ public drunkenness.
33.71.1
Bequest of Margaret N. Breck Stone, in memory of the Hall-Mansfield families of New Haven, Connecticut, 1932
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
In 1761, Otis framed the loss of health as a sacrifice someone may have to make in service to their country as a patriot. Do you think Otis would have considered his injuries from the caning to be a sacrifice? What about his drinking?
In what ways can challenging experiences change how someone acts or makes decisions? What are some ways you manage changes in your own life?