Phillis Wheatley was born in West Africa. Her date of birth and her African name are not known. A slave ship took her to Boston, Massachusetts, in 1761. She was then about 8 years old. A couple named John and Susanna Wheatley bought her. They gave her their own last name and treated her as part of the family.
Wheatley quickly learned to speak, read, and write English. In 1767, at the age of 14, a newspaper published one of her poems. Three years later Wheatley wrote another poem to honor a clergyman named George Whitefield. The poem was published throughout the North American colonies and in England. Wheatley became famous.
By 1772 Wheatley had written enough poems to fill a book. Susanna Wheatley helped Phillis to publish the book in England. The book was called Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral. Wheatley traveled to England in 1773. The English welcomed her as a famous author, though she was still a slave. Wheatley gained her freedom when she returned from England.
Some of Wheatley's poems could not be published in England because they supported American independence. Her most famous patriotic poem is To His Excellency, General Washington, which she wrote on October 26, 1775:
Proceed, great chief, with virtue on thy side,
Thy ev’ry action let the goddess guide.
A crown, a mansion, and a throne that shine,
With gold unfading, WASHINGTON! be thine.
In December 1775, Phillis’s letter and poem reached General Washington at his camp outside of Boston. The winter weather was hard on the soldiers who were hungry and cold. Washington worried about their chances against the British army. He had heard of the famous slave poet, and her poem about him and the fight for independence probably gave him more confidence and more determination to win. In fact, in his thank you letter to Wheatley he asked to meet her. We do not know if they ever met.
In 1778 Wheatley married John Peters, a free black man who, in addition to his work as a lawyer and a grocer, was also a writer and a speaker. Later, Peters abandoned Wheatley and their three children, and Wheatley had to take work as a maid. During this period, two of her children died. On December 5, 1784, Wheatley and her third child died within hours of each other. They were buried together in an unmarked grave.
Wheatley wrote poetry until her death but was never found a publisher. Memoir and Poems of Phillis Wheatley (1834) was published 50 years after her death, and Letters of Phillis Wheatley, appeared in 1864. Abolitionists often used Wheatley's work as proof that African Americans were no less intelligent than whites. Wheatley proved to many people that blacks were equal to whites in creative ability. She was also an example in arguments for more and better educational opportunities for African Americans.
Bibliography
"Wheatley, Phillis." Britannica Elementary Encyclopedia. Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2010. Web. 12 Nov. 2010 <http://school.eb.com/elementary/article?articleId=399996>.
Wheatley quickly learned to speak, read, and write English. In 1767, at the age of 14, a newspaper published one of her poems. Three years later Wheatley wrote another poem to honor a clergyman named George Whitefield. The poem was published throughout the North American colonies and in England. Wheatley became famous.
By 1772 Wheatley had written enough poems to fill a book. Susanna Wheatley helped Phillis to publish the book in England. The book was called Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral. Wheatley traveled to England in 1773. The English welcomed her as a famous author, though she was still a slave. Wheatley gained her freedom when she returned from England.
Some of Wheatley's poems could not be published in England because they supported American independence. Her most famous patriotic poem is To His Excellency, General Washington, which she wrote on October 26, 1775:
Proceed, great chief, with virtue on thy side,
Thy ev’ry action let the goddess guide.
A crown, a mansion, and a throne that shine,
With gold unfading, WASHINGTON! be thine.
In December 1775, Phillis’s letter and poem reached General Washington at his camp outside of Boston. The winter weather was hard on the soldiers who were hungry and cold. Washington worried about their chances against the British army. He had heard of the famous slave poet, and her poem about him and the fight for independence probably gave him more confidence and more determination to win. In fact, in his thank you letter to Wheatley he asked to meet her. We do not know if they ever met.
In 1778 Wheatley married John Peters, a free black man who, in addition to his work as a lawyer and a grocer, was also a writer and a speaker. Later, Peters abandoned Wheatley and their three children, and Wheatley had to take work as a maid. During this period, two of her children died. On December 5, 1784, Wheatley and her third child died within hours of each other. They were buried together in an unmarked grave.
Wheatley wrote poetry until her death but was never found a publisher. Memoir and Poems of Phillis Wheatley (1834) was published 50 years after her death, and Letters of Phillis Wheatley, appeared in 1864. Abolitionists often used Wheatley's work as proof that African Americans were no less intelligent than whites. Wheatley proved to many people that blacks were equal to whites in creative ability. She was also an example in arguments for more and better educational opportunities for African Americans.
Bibliography
"Wheatley, Phillis." Britannica Elementary Encyclopedia. Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2010. Web. 12 Nov. 2010 <http://school.eb.com/elementary/article?articleId=399996>.