Mercy Otis Warren



(1728-1814)


 * Occupation
 * Writer


 * Class
 * The Better Sort


 * Political scale
 * Radical Patriot (9)


 * Allowed in the OSH?
 * No Admittance

"· You are an intelligent and independent woman. Your family and marital connections throw you into the center of Patriot politics. "


 * You belong to the Patriot elite. You are not just an observer, as you often help create propaganda.


 * You write plays satirizing Loyalists. You viciously mock Loyalist individuals using thinly disguised nicknames. Other Patriots begin using your nicknames as code names – for example, Thomas Hutchinson was “Rapatio.”


 * As your reputation as a writer grows, John Adams asks you to write a poem celebrating the Boston Tea Party. This is a great honor for any writer. The poem you create is an allegorical farce titled “The Squabble of the Sea-Nymphs.”


 * In 1805, you publish a celebrated three-volume history of the Revolution, “The Rise, Progress, and Termination of the American Revolution” in your own name, despite strong prejudice against female writers.


 * After the revolution, you are strongly Anti-Federalist, (interested in democracy and a weak federal government) and the history you write, while factually accurate, contains your political bias. You and John Adams (who is a Federalist) have a falling-out because of the way you downplay his contributions.


 * You and Abigail Adams are friends and pen-pals for 40 years. The friendship is rocky during your falling out with her husband, but you forgive one another.


 * James Otis, your brother, goes mad in his old age, and you do your best to cover it up, keep him out of the public eye, and maintain his reputation.

Social connections

 * James Otis (brother)
 * James Warren (husband)
 * John Adams (friend)
 * Abigail Adams (friend)
 * quite a few other political friends.