Writers Works
Phillis Wheatley
Phillis Wheatley, an enslaved person, was an influential writer. She focused specifically on poems during the Revolutionary time period. Through her work, she writes about tyranny and slavery in the colonies. Her work was important in itself as it opened people's eyes into the tyranny that was being imposed upon the colonies by the British in the form of a written work.
A specific poem written by Wheatley was titled “To the Right Honourable William, Earl of Dartmouth,” and expresses her hopes that Dartmouth would be less harsh with her than her predecessor. She also explains that her deep love of freedom stems from being a slave, and compares the colonies’ relationship with Britain to being ripped away from her parents at such a young age. Her poem is as follows:
“Should you, my lord, while you peruse my song, Wonder from whence my love of Freedom sprung, Whence flow these wishes for the common good, By feeling hearts alone best understood, I, young in life, by seeming cruel fate Was snatch’d from Afric’s fancy’d happy seat: What pangs excruciating must molest, What sorrows labour in my parent’s breast? Steel’d was that soul and by no misery mov’d That from a father seiz’d his babe belov’d: Such, such my case. And can I then but pray Others may never feel tyrannic sway?"1
Her poem was influential to the general community as she ties in her experiences to something that they are all too familiar with; the separation of Britain and America. Wheatley’s works were so important as she was the first African American woman to have her work published. She was an avid supporter of the American Revolution which is clear in her works, and these works being published assisted in educating the community around why they should support the cause.
1 Phillis Wheatley, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, London, 1773. (Gilder Lehrman Institute, GLC06154)
Elizabeth F. Elliot
Another written work came from Elizabeth F. Ellet, titled The Women of the American Revolution vol 1. This work articulates the want to be appreciated for their work and various women and their contributions, respectively. This writing helps to give the appropriate amount of gravity to the labor these women were putting forth into the fight.
An excerpt from the work is as follows: “An American soldier, flying from pursuit, sought the protection of Mrs. Richard Shubrick. The British, who followed him, insisted with threats that he should be delivered into their hands. While the other ladies in the house were too much frightened to offer remonstrance, this young and fragile creature withstood the enemy. With a delicacy of frame that bespoke feeble health, she possessed a spirit strong in the hour of trial: and her pale cheek could flush, and her eyes sparkle with scorn for the oppressor. She placed herself resolutely at the door of the apartment in which the fugitive had taken refuge, declaring her determination to defend it with her life. "To men of honor," she said, "the chamber of a lady should be sacred as a sanctuary!"”2
Throughout this excerpt, it is clear that this woman in particular knows her importance in society and is confident enough in her importance to assert herself in between British officers. In other works of the time, there were not many written accounts of women being physically assertive against the opposing force. This shows that women played an essential role in many different ways, including using themselves as a barrier against the British.
This work is considered one of the earliest accounts of people recognizing the efforts of the women who impacted the Revolution, while still paying great detail to the strict norms of the time, both socially and in relation to gender.
2 Ellet, Elizabeth F. The Women of the American Revolution. New York: Baker and Scribner, 1848.
Cited Sources
1. Phillis Wheatley, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, London, 1773. (Gilder Lehrman Institute, GLC06154)
2. Ellet, Elizabeth F. The Women of the American Revolution. New York: Baker and Scribner, 1848.