Why Is Phillis Wheatley Forgotten Revolutionary

Phillis Wheatley: The Forgotten Revolutionary

The poetry and literature of the American Revolution is some of the most well known, but have you ever heard of Phillis Wheatley? Phillis Wheatley was a successful poet and an unlikely revolutionary. As a black woman who began her career as a slave, Wheatley cleared hurdles and broke rules on a daily basis. Wheatley was born in Gambia, around 1753. She was kidnapped and brought to America by slave ship when she was 7 or 8 years old. In Boston, she was purchased by the Wheatleys, a wealthy local family. She lived and worked the rest of her life in Boston, even after she was freed. She died in Boston on December 5th, 1784 after a life laden with poetry and unlikely success. Wheatley showed white

Not only did she do it, but she was recognized by George Washington, one of the best known and most respected founding fathers and the first president of the United States. Wheatley sent a poem from her first published collection called “Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral” published in 1773 in which she wrote “A crown, a mansion, and a throne that shine, With gold unfading, WASHINGTON! Be thine.”. George Washington actually responded, and invited her to meet him if she was ever in Cambridge, and she accepted. They spoke for 30 minutes, but what they said was not recorded for privacy reasons. But this was no easy feat for Phillis. It was quite challenging to find a publisher that would accept a black woman. So challenging in fact, that Phillis and Susanna could not find one in America and instead found one in London. She also probably faced a lot of backlash and not as many supporters as we would like to think. In “On Being Brought from Africa to America”, (1768) by Phillis Wheatley illustrates the blatant racism and criticism she faced: “Some view our sable race with scornful eye,” she wrote ‘Their colour is a diabolic die.’” This demonstrates the way she was mistreated and looked down on despite her remarkable talent and intelligence. If she had been a white man, she would probably be constantly

Phillis Wheatley gave whites and men a perfect example of an intelligent black woman and a new perspective about what they were capable of. She changed the opinion of many just by existing and succeeding. All of the sudden people were hearing of a smart black woman who was in the company of George Washington, and whether they thought she should or shouldn't do that, now they knew she could. Wheatley expresses how she feels about oppression and equality in a letter written in 1774, "in every human breast, God has implanted a Principle, which we call Love of Freedom; it is impatient of Oppression, and pants for Deliverance." Not only did she break stereotypes and prove many wrong, but she gave young black women proper representation. When a population that has been constantly put down sees someone who looks like them doing amazing things, it does a lot for their confidence and inspires them to do the same. Wheatley also gave Americans today a rare perspective of the revolution that most don’t usually hear about. It’s very fortunate that her work was so well documented between all her letters and poems, because the majority of our knowledge of the revolution is from the white