Phillis Wheatley
Poet
Phillis Wheatley (May 8, 1753- December 5, 1784) was born in Senegal, Gambia and died in Boston, Massachusetts. She was kidnapped from West Africa at the age of 8 and brought to Boston, Massachusetts where she was auctioned off to John Wheatley. The Wheatley’s provided her with an education which allowed her to begin her career in writing poetry. She was freed from slavery around the time of July and October of 1773. She later married freed slave John Peters but he was arrested for debt in 1784. Phillis Wheatley was the first African American women to have her poems published.
Phillis Wheatley was born on May 8, 1753 in Senegal/Gambia, she was kidnapped from West Africa and was brought to Boston Massachusetts as a slave around the age of 8 in 1761 and bought by John Wheatley to be a servant for his wife, Susanna. The Wheatley’s were not like other slave owners who denied there slaves an education but rather had their two children help Phillis learn Latin and Greek, later on helping her to become a poet. Phillis encountered many struggles throughout her lifetime that helped shape her writing, in the eyes of most people she didn’t obtain the American dream but for Phillis she did.
“In 1773, with financial support from the English Countess of Huntington, Wheatley traveled to London with the Wheatley’s son to publish her first collection of poems, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral– the first book written by a black woman in American.” Wheatley was only 20 when her poem volume verse was published and the preface contained 17 British men, including John Hancock, who verified that she had written all the poems within the book. This poem verse was a landmark in American History because she was the first African American women and first U.S. slave to publish a book of poems, as well as being the 2nd women in American History to do so. Around this time Phillis was granted freedom from slavery, the exact date is unknown but theorists believe it was between July and October of 1773. Wheatley was also a strong supporter of George Washington and wrote a well-received poem praising the appointment of him as the commander of the Continental Army. She had sent one of her poems to president George Washington which led to him inviting her visit him in headquarters at Cambridge, Massachusetts in March of 1776. But once returning her life had been changed forever, finding out that John Wheatley had passed away in 1778 and Susanna Wheatley died earlier in 1774.
She later married a free African American from Boston, John Peters, and had 3 children with him, all of which died at infancy. Their relationship was a constant struggle being two African American freed people, finding work was hard so their battle with poverty was as a constant issue. Her husband John was later arrested in 1784 for debt. “Ultimately, Wheatley was forced to find work as a maid in a boarding house and lived in squalid, horrifying conditions.” Throughout this time Wheatley continued to write but with growing tensions with the British she lost stamina and enthusiasm to write her poems due to the Revolutionary War. Some of the poems she had written during this time were sporadically published though by newspapers and pamphlets. Many of her poems before this time were focused on her heritage, religion, and slave life. Debra Michals also stated that, “Wheatley’s poems reflected several influences on her life, among them the well-known poets she studied, such as Alexander Pope and Thomas Gray.” One example of one of her most well-known poems are “To the King’s Most Excellent Majesty,” written to King George the third was her praising him for repealing the Stamp Act because she believed it would hurt the poverty-stricken people even more to a higher extent since it would be used as another tax. Also, when attempting to publish her second poem verse she was unsuccessful due to the lack of support from publishing companies and shortage of money. Phillis Wheatley later died on December 5, 1784 at the age of 31 due to complications with childbirth.
Phillis Wheatley may have not met the ideal American dream standard of most but for her being able to publish her own work, travel to London and become a freed slave her version of the American dream was fulfilled. Writing dozens of poems and “In the past ten years, Wheatley scholars have uncovered poems, letters, and more facts about her life and her association with the 18th-century Black abolitionist.” She was an amazing poet of her time and wrote not only about current problems in society like the government, slavery and taxes but gave people another way to view these issues by using her creativity and brilliance to make amazing pieces of work.
Hannah Wood
Phillip Herrington
History 225, Section 0033
REVOLUTIONARY
Phillis Wheatley was born on May 8, 1753 in Senegal/Gambia, she was kidnapped from West Africa and was brought to Boston Massachusetts as a slave around the age of 8 in 1761 and bought by John Wheatley to be a servant for his wife, Susanna.2 The Wheatley’s were not like other slave owners who denied there slaves an education but rather had their two children help Phillis learn Latin and Greek, later on helping her to become a poet. Phillis encountered many struggles throughout her lifetime that helped shape her writing, in the eyes of most people she didn’t obtain the American dream but for Phillis she did.
“In 1773, with financial support from the English Countess of Huntington, Wheatley traveled to London with the Wheatley’s son to publish her first collection of poems, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral– the first book written by a black woman in American.”1 Wheatley was only 20 when her poem volume verse was published and the preface contained 17 British men, including John Hancock, who verified that she had written all the poems within the book. This poem verse was a landmark in American History because she was the first African American women and first U.S. slave to publish a book of poems, as well as being the 2nd women in American History to do so.4 Around this time Phillis was granted freedom from slavery, the exact date is unknown but theorists believe it was between July and October of 1773. Wheatley was also a strong supporter of George Washington and wrote a well-received poem praising the appointment of him as the commander of the Continental Army. She had sent one of her poems to president George Washington which led to him inviting her visit him in headquarters at Cambridge, Massachusetts in March of 1776. But once returning her life had been changed forever, finding out that John Wheatley had passed away in 1778 and Susanna Wheatley died earlier in 1774.
She later married a free African American from Boston, John Peters, and had 3 children with him, all of which died at infancy. Their relationship was a constant struggle being two African American freed people, finding work was hard so their battle with poverty was as a constant issue. Her husband John was later arrested in 1784 for debt. “Ultimately, Wheatley was forced to find work as a maid in a boarding house and lived in squalid, horrifying conditions.”2 Throughout this time Wheatley continued to write but with growing tensions with the British she lost stamina and enthusiasm to write her poems due to the Revolutionary War.4 Some of the poems she had written during this time were sporadically published though by newspapers and pamphlets. Many of her poems before this time were focused on her heritage, religion, and slave life. Debra Michals also stated that, “Wheatley’s poems reflected several influences on her life, among them the well-known poets she studied, such as Alexander Pope and Thomas Gray.”1 One example of one of her most well-known poems are “To the King’s Most Excellent Majesty,” written to King George the third was her praising him for repealing the Stamp Act because she believed it would hurt the poverty-stricken people even more to a higher extent since it would be used as another tax. Also, when attempting to publish her second poem verse she was unsuccessful due to the lack of support from publishing companies and shortage of money. Phillis Wheatley later died on December 5, 1784 at the age of 31 due to complications with childbirth.
Phillis Wheatley may have not met the ideal American dream standard of most but for her being able to publish her own work, travel to London and become a freed slave her version of the American dream was fulfilled. Writing dozens of poems and “In the past ten years, Wheatley scholars have uncovered poems, letters, and more facts about her life and her association with the 18th-century Black abolitionist.”2 She was an amazing poet of her time and wrote not only about current problems in society like the government, slavery and taxes but gave people another way to view these issues by using her creativity and brilliance to make amazing pieces of work.
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1 National Women’s History Museum. (2018). Phillis Wheatley. [online] Available at: https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/phillis-wheatley [Accessed 26 Oct. 2018].
2 O’Neale, S. (2018). Phillis Wheatley. [online] Poetry Foundation. Available at: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/phillis-wheatley [Accessed 26 Oct. 2018].
3 Ernest, J. (2012). Phillis Wheatley: Biography of a Genius in Bondage. Journal of American History, 99(2), pp.586-587.
4 Biography. (2018). Phillis Wheatley. [online] Available at: https://www.biography.com/people/phillis-wheatley-9528784 [Accessed 26 Oct. 2018].