THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, 1692-1783 the American Revolution

SETTLER COLONIALISM AND THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, 1692-1783 The American Revolution

Resource:

Abolition and Revolution

Background

Phillis Wheatley was born around the year 1753 in West Africa. When she was seven or eight years old, she was forced to endure the Middle Passage, and when she arrived in Boston, she was sold to John and Susanna Wheatley. They named her Phillis after the ship that brought her from Africa.

Phillis was a brilliant child, and her owners encouraged her to learn to read and write. Phillis proved to be a very talented poet. John and Susanna were proud of her work, and they began publishing it in newspapers in 1767. These early works made her the frst African woman published in the colonies. But even as Phillis’s fame grew, she was still enslaved. Her owners and readers loved her work, but they still viewed her as property.

By 1772, Phillis had enough poems to make a book, but she could not fnd an American publisher for it. So, the Wheatleys sent Phillis to London with their son to fnd a publisher, and in 1773, her book, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, made its debut. It was widely praised.

Publishing a book was not the only thing Phillis accomplished in London. In England, there was a law that no slaveowner who brought an enslaved person to England could force them to return to the colonies. Phillis used this law to negotiate with the Wheatleys and gain her freedom.

Phillis Wheatley lived the rest of her life in Boston, where she continued to write poetry. Her works are unique in the way they blend support for the American

Revolution with admonishments against the practice of slavery. She died suddenly in 1784, before she was able to publish a second book of poetry.

About the Document

In this letter, we get to see the many sides of Phillis Wheatley. Phillis the friend is reaching out to the wife of a friend after hearing about his death in battle. Phillis the poet sends a beautiful poem in his honor. Phillis the Patriot praises the justness of the American cause. But Phillis the abolitionist points out the hypocrisy of the colonists fghting for independence while they continue to enslave and oppress people of African descent. And Phillis the businesswoman, who must make enough money to support herself and her family, asks for the return of any unsold copies of her book (which General Wooster had agreed to sell on her behalf) so she can sell them herself.

Vocabulary

• abolitionist: A person who wanted to end the practice of slavery. • accord: Unify. • Africa’s blameless race: Innocent Black people. • bondage: Slavery. • celestial: Heavenly. • Christian virtues: Morals based on the teachings of Jesus Christ. • Columbia: America. • combat: Fighting. • consolation: Comfort. • deed: Action. • divine: Heavenly. • elate: Fill with joy or pride. • ethereal: Heavenly.

• expiring: Dying. • feeting: Passing. • Inly serene: Peacefully. • martial: Warlike. • Middle Passage: The part of the Triangle Trade that brought enslaved people from Africa to the New World. • mortals: Humans. • muse: Goddess of poetry. • perished: Died. • presumptuous: Arrogant. • propitious: Encouraging. • resound: Echo loudly. • shades: Shadows. • sway: Control. • swimming: Watering. • thine: Your. • thee: You. • vainest vapor: Foolish idea. • vice: Moral failing. • virtue: Moral excellence.

Discussion Questions

• How does Phillis Wheatley characterize the American Revolution? How does she characterize General Wooster and his wife? • What problems does Phillis Wheatley raise in regard to the American Revolution? • What does this poem reveal about the attitudes of enslaved and free Blacks during the American Revolution? • Why are works of literature, like this poem, valuable sources of historical information?