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Phillis Wheatley: The Life of a Mastermind

The African American intellectual prodigy, Phillis Wheatley once stood on the slave block awaiting sale. In 1761 at the age of seven or eight, Phillis was purchased by a Boston merchant, Mr. John Wheatley, for his wife. Mrs. Wheatley chose Phillis, young as she was, because of her" humble and modest demeanor” (Odell 9). Mrs. Wheatley initially hopes to train Phillis to replace the aging house slaves and to be her companion, since Mrs. Wheatley's daughter, Mary, would soon be old enough to leave home (Richmond 15).

The turning point for Phillis Wheatley was that she was fortunate enough to be educated. This was an amazing blessing to her because it was uncommon for free women in this …show more content…
Twenty years of age, she seemed to enjoy her time there, and met many important persons. While Phillis was in London, her book of poetry, entitled Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, was published. The book was dedicated to Lady Huntingdon, to whom she may have been introduced. According to Richmond, this was the first book by a black woman ever to be published (33). In fact, Phillis' book was one of the first books published by anyone from the Colonies. The fact that this poetry was that of a twenty year old female slave was extremely remarkable—and unbelievable. Thus it was that, in order to make the book acceptable to the public, eighteen well-respected Bostonian gentlemen signed a statement verifying the work as hers, along with a separate statement by her master. These were printed inside the book as a preface to her …show more content…
Wheatley freed Phillis. Shortly thereafter, Phillis married an African American grocer, John Peters. Wheatley’s husband failed at his grocer business, as well as several other business attempts, keeping them in poverty. Phillis continued to write, but the intense racism, prejudice, and struggling economy of the Colonies hindered her efforts to live a dignified. To support herself and her family, Phillis "worked as a servant in her final years," doing the hard labor she never had to when a slave (Britannica). Phillis eventually bore three children, all of whom died of frail health—the third died two days after Phillis Wheatley. She was about 31 years

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