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Birth
Mercy Otis Warren was born into a family of all boys. Her older brother, James, was a great influnce on her life, and probably the most important sibling she had. Surprisingly, ha has the same name as her future husband! -
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Mercy's Life
All of Warren's writing related to the Revolutionary War, criticizing the British, supporting the Patriots, and helping the great cause which was American freedom. -
Education
Education wasn't socially acceptable for girls in the 1700s, so, technically, Mercy did not attend school. But she learned a whole lot more than any other girl by sitting in on her brother's lessons and reading books in her uncles library. This was how she started her writing career. -
Engaged to James Warren
Mercy gets engaged! She will later marry James Warren, who's family was very into the Patriot cause.They were engaged for 6 years, which was strange even today, forget about back then. James let Mercy be an independent thinker, which was unusal at that time. -
Married
When Mercy marries James Warren, she is immediatrly entered into a world of Patriots. James' family were extreme supporters of Patriot cause, which caused Mercy to begin developing her view on the Revolution. Meetings were often held in the Warren household for Patriots, and some of Mercy's best friends included James and Abigail Adams. They were very Patriotic. -
Gives Birth James Warren Jr.
This child, James Warren Jr, was creatively named after Mercy's two biggest supporters: her husband James, and her brother James. He was, like the rest of his family, greatly involved in the Patriot cause and his beliefs. -
Writes first poem
Sometime in the winter of 1759, Mercy wrote her first poem. This was the start of her writing career. Though this poem was not published, it was an important milestone for her; it showed her that there were many ways for her to show her beliefs other than verbally -
Gives Birth to Winslow Warren
Mercy thought differently about many things than other people, and parenting was one of them. She believed that parens were examples for their child,and she proved herself to be right when her second child went into the Patriot cause. -
Charles Warren
As with her other children, Mercy taught Charles different too. Her unique views on parenting really stood out, which was why she expressed her views htrough writing. Writing is definetely one of the best ways to express your opinion; the entire world has access to your thoughts and feelings, and you can say whatever you want! -
Henry Warren is Born
Henry Warren, born in 1764, was another supporter of Mercy Otis Warren. All her children helped her express her views on parenting, which, like her other beliefs, differed from society. -
James Elected to the Massachusetts HOR
When Mercy's husband, James, was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives, he started to spend a lot of time away from home. This upsetted Mercy, and, as a result, she wrote a play in which she requested her husband to give up the political life and stay home with his family. After all, it was not easy to raise four (later five) children by herself. Writing to get what she wants was really the only object of Mercy's writing. -
George Warren is Born
Mercy had five children, a big family, and although that seems unusual today, it was perfectly normal back then. But it was not the number of children that made a difference in Mercy's life, it was how they were raised. Mercy could raise them however they want and she chose to do it her way. This helped her express her beiefs and showed her that she could do things too. -
James (brother) Injured
James Otis was a big part of Mercy's life, so you can imagine her distress when he gets into a fight with John Robinson in a coffeehouse in 1769. Robinson beat Otis up, causing several head injuries. Although it was nothing serious, James was changed forever.The big-hearted motivational speaker did not have the same room-brightening effect as before, and this affected Mercy greatly. -
Hutchinson Becomes Governor
Thomas Hutcinson was the Otis' biggest enemy. So, naturally, when he was appointed governor, the entire family was a little angry and uncomfortable. Mercy felt that if her brother was not injured, he would've written something in protest. Mercy, as a tribute to her brother and a glare at Hutchinson, wrote a play about how unfair Hutchinson's appointment was. -
Mercy's First Play Appears in Newspapers
As mentioned earlier, Mercy wanted to write a play about Hutchinson's appointment as governor. She did so through this play, which marked the beginning of her writing career. The main characters in the play were Brutus (represented her brother) and Rapatio (represented Hutchinson. This play was the first of many that Mercy got published, and really shone some light on Mercy's pontential, both as a writer and as a Patriot supporter. -
Mercy's Second Play is Published in Newspapers
After her first inspiring play, many people were asking Mercy what she thought about the war, how she believed it would end. As a result, Mercy created a sequel to The Adulateur, called The Defeat. In this play, Rapatio and his followers are beaten and end up losing the war. However, at the same time, the Patriots did not gain independence. This play caused a lot of confusion yet it still inspired many people to change their beliefs about the revolution. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was a big event in the revolution, so anyone thoughroly involved in the revolution was greatly affected, no matter which side they were on. One of these people was John Adams, who wrote a letter to Mercy's husband about how he wished someone would write something about the protest (hint hint). About a month later, an anonymous poem was published called The Squabble of the Sea Nymphs. Guess who wrote it? -
Mercy's Third Play is Published
Mercy's third play. The Group, was one of her most symbolic plays. Most of the characters were women, and one was named Freedom. The play ended with the Patriots giving up and Freedom left crying on the stage. This play left tears in many's eyes as they watched their poor freedom crying on stage and inspired Patriots to work harder. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
Mercy's husband and brother were both at the Battle of Bunker Hill, and her oldest son was at college. All this separation from family really opened up Mercy's eyes, and after the battle she begged her husband to come home. Not only did James (husband) leave the army, he also declined an amazing position on the Massachusetts Supreme Court to stay home with his family. Although Mercy was quite happy her husband was safe, many of his army buddies thought he was a quitter. -
New Republic
After the war, the new republic was formed. Since James had started to lose his importantance in the war after the Battle of Bunker Hill, he was not a government offcial after the war. Mercy was shocked by some of the decisions made by those who were government officials; with a bit of jealousy but mostly resentment against the New Republic, she began to write plays against the New Republic. -
A Little Bit of Trouble With the Adams
John and Abigail Adams had always been very close friends, but when Mercy published her works History of the Rise, Progress, and Termination of the American Revolution, in which she criticized Johns recent desicions as a government official, John was quite angry. He wrote a slightly aggresive letter to Mercy, which started a fight that didn't end until after Mercy's husband died, -
James Warren Dies
James died at the age of 84. Mercy was greatly affected by this and almost gave up writing, except for one last poem, an acrostic, where the first letter of every line spelled out James Warren. -
Death
And so, as we end the journey of Mercy Otis Warren's life, let's take a look at all the wonderful things shes done, all the people she's influenced. :)
