Within the context of the story alone, Josiah Quincy is
first mentioned in chapter 4, when Johnny is in jail. He is a "famous Whig" attorney
who agrees to defend Johnny free of charge. Other than this, he is a relatively minor
character in the story.
A few inferences can be made about
him based only on clues in the novel. First, he is a Whig, who were known for their
revolutionary ideas and willingness to go to violent measures in order to gain the
freedoms they believed they deserved. Josiah Quincy is present at the first "secret"
meeting which ends in the decision to dump taxed tea into the Boston Harbor (the Boston
Tea Party). The fact that he agrees to defend Johnny for free suggests that he is
wealthy.
Outside the context of the novel (historically
speaking), Josiah Quincy was in fact an attorney, wealthy as a result of his family
connections, a congressman, judge, state representative, the mayor of Boston, and the
president of Harvard College.
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