User:Bvols24!/Mercy Otis Warren

Early life
Warren was born on September 7, 1728 (old style), the third of thirteen children and first daughter of Colonel James Otis (1702–1778) and Mary Allyne Otis (1702–1774). Only six of her siblings survived to adulthood. The family lived in West Barnstable, Massachusetts. Her mother was a descendant of Mayflower passenger Edward Doty. Her father was a farmer and attorney, who served as a judge for the Barnstable County Court of Common Pleas. He won election to the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1745. He was an outspoken opponent and leader against British rule and against the appointed colonial governor, Thomas Hutchinson.

The Otis children were "raised in the midst of revolutionary ideals". Although Mercy had no formal education, she studied with the Reverend Jonathan Russell while he tutored her brothers Joseph and James in preparation for college. Unlike most girls of the time who were simply literate, Warren most likely paved the way for her to break the traditional gender roles of her time. Her father also had unconventional views of his daughter's education, as he fully supported her endeavors, which was extremely unusual for the 18th century. Her brother James attended Harvard College and became a noted patriot and lawyer. What little of his correspondence with Mercy survives suggests that James encouraged Mercy's academic and literary efforts, treating her as an intellectual equal and confidante.

She married James Warren on November 14, 1754. After settling in Plymouth, James inherited his father's position as sheriff. His previous occupations included farming and merchanting. Throughout their lives, they wrote letters of respect and admiration to each other. These exchanges of adoration showed both a mutual respect and an enduring bond between the two. James would write from Boston, "I have read one Excellent Sermon this day & heard two others. What next can I do better than write to a Saint," and Mercy would then respond, "Your spirit I admire- were a few thousands on the Continent of a similar disposition we might defy the power of Britain." They had five sons, James (1757–1821), Winslow (1759–1791), Charles (1762–1784), Henry (1764–1828), and George (1766–1800).

Her husband James had a distinguished political career. In 1765, he was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives. He became speaker of the House and president of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress. He also served as paymaster to George Washington's army for a time during the American Revolutionary War. Mercy Warren actively participated in the political life of her husband. The Warrens became increasingly involved in the conflict between the American colonies and the British Government. Their Plymouth home was often a meeting place for local politics and revolutionaries including the Sons of Liberty. Warren became increasingly drawn to political activism, and she hosted protest meetings in her home. With the assistance of her friend Samuel Adams, these meetings laid the foundation for the Committees of correspondence. Warren wrote, "no single step contributed so much to cement the union of the colonies."

Like Mercy's father and brothers, the first patriots disliked the colonial governor. Mercy accordingly became a strong political voice with views on liberty, republican government and independence for the American colonies. She wrote: "Every domestic enjoyment depends on the unimpaired possession of civil and religious liberty." Mercy's husband James encouraged her to write, fondly referring to her as the "scribbler" and she became his chief correspondent and sounding board. She wrote poems and stories about people fighting for freedom.

Revolutionary writings and politics
Warren formed a strong circle of friends with whom she regularly corresponded, including Abigail Adams, John Adams, Martha Washington and Hannah Winthrop, wife of John Winthrop. In a letter to Catharine Macaulay she writes: "America stands armed with resolution and virtue; but she still recoils at the idea of drawing the sword against the nation from whom she derived her origin. Yet Britain, like an unnatural parent, is ready to plunge her dagger into the bosom of her affectionate offspring." Through their correspondence they increased the awareness of women's issues, were supportive, and influenced the course of events to further America's cause.

She became a correspondent and advisor to many political leaders, including Samuel Adams, John Hancock, Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington and especially John Adams, who became her literary mentor in the years leading to the Revolution. In a letter to James Warren, Adams writes, "Tell your wife that God Almighty has entrusted her with the Powers for the good of the World, which, in the cause of his Providence, he bestows on few of the human race. That instead of being a fault to use them, it would be criminal to neglect them." ^^^^^ add material about the relationships with these people = = = = = '''Since Warren knew most of the leaders of the Revolution personally, she was continually at or near the center of events from 1765 to 1789. (*****STILL NEED TO ADD PRIMARY SOURCE..in the process) Citations corrections*****)'''

Mercy Otis Warren had already become acquainted with John Adam’s cousin, Samuel, as he was a frequent visitor to the Otis and then the Warren houses when he and other politicians like Patrick Henry traveled to Boston. John Adams’ request that Warren write about the Boston Tea Party was instrumental in advancing Warren’s writing career and led to her satirical poem, “The Squabble of the Sea Nymphs,” in which the Sons of Liberty were portrayed as heroes. Adams himself had suggested the basic content of the poem, while his request that Warren write was probably due to Warren’s close friendship with his wife Abigail. Not sure about how her writing would be received, Warren even consulted with her friend Abigail Adams about her husband’s opinion of the work, especially since although he had visited her home previously, Adams did not ask her to write until after his wife had become a friend of Warren. John Adams was pleased with the anonymous poem and published it in the Boston Gazette on the front page. It was also Adams who had urged her to write a history of the Revolution even while the war was still being fought. For this work, she was able to use her own memory of the Revolution, but she also solicited copies of congressional debates, letters, and other information from the active participants in the revolution, many of whom she knew personally and through her family connections Before and during the Revolution, the Warren home served as a gathering place for patriot debates and meetings, allowing Mercy Warren to meet patriot leaders and also their wives, like Abigail Adams and Martha Washington. In addition, her husband, James, was on the Massachusetts Committee of Correspondence and among other official positions served as the paymaster of the Continental Army in 1776, a time when Mercy Warren would travel between home and the army to serve as her husband’s secretary. Warren’s elite and privileged status in the midst of such a dramatically evolving political situation allowed her as a woman entry into the inner circles of revolutionary activity and debate. Not only did she came to know as individuals many of the most important political figures of her times, but she also formed strong opinions about many of them and some like Adams became influential in her literary life. Among those she met was George Washington, whom she described from their first meeting as “one of the most amiable and accomplished gentlemen, both in person, mind, and manners….” Years later, in 1790, she would ask Washington to approve her History, which he did. Another friend, Jefferson helped her get subscriptions for this work. Unfortunately, this same creation also contributed to the bitterness that rose between Mercy Warren and her old friend, John Adams. After the Revolution, Mercy Warren disagreed with John Adams’ strong Federalism and sided with Jeffersonian Republicanism. She openly expressed her opinion in the harshest of terms in her historical account of Adams, thereby ending one of the most productive friendships of the revolutionary period. As with John Adams, John Hancock, who had once wavered about the question of independence from Britain, also fell out of favor with the Warrens. He became for them the embodiment of the earlier threat tyranny seen in the British governors. Thomas Jefferson’s republicanism, on the other hand, allowed Marcy Otis Warren to maintain her earlier approval of him.

Hyperlinks:

https://founders.archives.gov/?q=mercy%20otis%20warren&s=1111311111&sa=&r=264&sr=

https://founders.archives.gov/?q=mercy%20otis%20warren&s=1111311111&sa=&r=269&sr

https://founders.archives.gov/?q=mercy%20otis%20warren%20Author%3A%22Warren%2C%20Mercy%20Otis%22&s=1111311111&r=77&sr=