60-Second Civics: Episode 4356, James Otis Speaks Against General Warrants: The Right to Privacy, Part 4

General warrants were unpopular in the American colonies, where they were used to search for evidence of smuggling. In a five-hour speech in February 1761, James Otis spoke out against them, saying that they would "totally annihilate" the British common-law tradition that "A man's house is his castle."




Center for Civic Education