Memorial to Peter Oliver in Birmingham Cathedral

Peter Oliver (March 26, 1713 – October 12, 1791) was Chief Justice of the

Superior Court In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general jurisdiction over civil and criminal legal cases. A superior court is "superior" in relation to a court with limited jurisdiction (see small claims court), which is restricted to civi ...

(the highest court) of the

Province of Massachusetts Bay The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a colony in British America which became one of the thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7, 1691, by William III and Mary II, the joint monarchs of the kingdoms of ...

from 1772–1775. He was a

Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British C ...

during the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

, and left Massachusetts in 1776, settling in England.

Early life

Peter Oliver was born in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

on March 26, 1713, to well known parents. He graduated from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher ...

in 1730. He co-ran a Boston importing business with his brother

Andrew Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is frequently shortened to "Andy" or "Drew". The word is derive ...

for several years, although his interests were in science and literature. Oliver bought an iron works in Middleborough,

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

in 1744. This company made household items made of

cast-iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...

as well as cannonballs. With the profits from this company Oliver built Oliver Hall, described as one of the most elegant residences in all of colonial

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

Court career

Oliver was appointed Justice of the Peace in 1744, and a justice of the Court of

Common Pleas A court of common pleas is a common kind of court structure found in various common law jurisdictions. The form originated with the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster, which was created to permit individuals to press civil grievances against o ...

in 1747. He was named a justice of the Massachusetts Superior Court of Judicature in 1756. Oliver supported the idea that colonists should be taxed and more effort should be put into preventing smuggling to pay for the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the st ...

. Originally starting in 1765, the

Sons of Liberty The Sons of Liberty was a loosely organized, clandestine, sometimes violent, political organization active in the Thirteen American Colonies founded to advance the rights of the colonists and to fight taxation by the British government. It pl ...

used threats and violence as a tool to manipulate the actions of Peter Oliver and his brother Andrew. Peter Oliver was forced to do things such as refusing to sit in court. Oliver was a strong supporter of the Stamp Act, which caused him to be harassed even further. Oliver was one of three judges during the trials held after the

Boston Massacre The Boston Massacre (known in Great Britain as the Incident on King Street) was a confrontation in Boston on March 5, 1770, in which a group of nine British soldiers shot five people out of a crowd of three or four hundred who were harassing t ...

. Thomas Hutchinson was pleased with the work that Peter Oliver did, and made him chief justice of the Superior Court in 1772. Oliver complained often about how low his salary was as chief justice. The British proposed a plan to raise the justice's salary, paid for by the crown. All of the justices declined this offer except for Oliver. He was

impeached Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In ...

in 1774 because of the public outrage against him for doing so. In January, 1776, Oliver, who believed absolutely that the Revolution, which he consistently referred to as the "Rebellion," was illegal and destined to fail, wrote a letter to Massachusetts troops entitled "An Address to the Soldiers of Massachusetts Bay who are now in Arms against the Laws of their Country." Oliver essentially argues that the Rebellion is illegal and destined to fail and that the Massachusetts troops have been lied to by their officers about the potential for success against Great Britain, which he characterizes as the "mildest government to live under."

Later life

Oliver departed from the colonies when the British evacuated troops and Loyalists from Boston in March 1776. He was named in the Massachusetts Banishment Act of 1778. Oliver sailed first to Nova Scotia and later to England and lived there until his death on October 12, 1795. In 1781, the year in which Lord Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown, thereby effectively ending the military struggle in the Colonies, Oliver wrote a bitter denunciation of the Revolution, targeting those who inflamed the populace against the British, entitled "Origin & Progress of the American Rebellion," which is important because Oliver articulates the views of many Loyalists, especially those who were born in the Colonies and lost everything when they fled to Great Britain. Oliver puts most of the blame on men like

Samuel Adams Samuel Adams ( – October 2, 1803) was an American statesman, political philosopher, and a Founding Father of the United States. He was a politician in colonial Massachusetts, a leader of the movement that became the American Revolution, an ...

, who, in Oliver's view, instigated an illegal rebellion primarily for economic reasons.

References

Oliver, Peter (1713-1791) , Encyclopedia.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oliver, Peter 1713 births 1791 deaths British colonial judges in the Americas Justices of the Massachusetts Superior Court of Judicature American Loyalists from Massachusetts People from colonial Boston Harvard College alumni Harvard College Loyalists in the American Revolution People of colonial Massachusetts