Mercy Otis Warren

A Patriot With a Pen

Born: September 25, 1728, Barnstable, Massachusetts Died: October 19, 1814 (age 86) Role: Playwright, writer, historian, advisor Famous for: Plays that made fun of British leaders; her 1805 history of the Revolution

On March 26, 1772, a Boston newspaper printed part of a play. The play was set in a faraway land. A greedy ruler named Rapatio ran it. No author's name was printed. But readers in Boston knew who Rapatio was. He was Thomas Hutchinson, the royal governor of Massachusetts. The writer was a mother of five from Plymouth. Her name was Mercy Otis Warren.

Learning With Her Brothers

Mercy Otis was born in 1728 in Barnstable, Massachusetts. Girls then did not go to college. Her father let her study with her brothers. Their uncle was their tutor. A tutor is a teacher who teaches at home. Her brother James Otis Jr. became a lawyer. In 1761 he argued in court against British searches of ships and homes. In 1764 he wrote that Britain could not tax the colonies without their consent.

Plays Against the Governor

In 1754 Mercy married James Warren. He was a merchant and a lawmaker. They had five sons. Patriot leaders like John Adams met at their house in Plymouth.

In the 1770s Warren wrote plays that made fun of the governor and his friends. This kind of writing is called satire. Satire uses humor to attack people in power. Her plays were printed in newspapers. They were meant to be read, not acted. Most people then thought politics was not a woman's business. So Warren left her name off her plays. Patriot leaders knew she wrote them. She wrote letters to John Adams. She became a close friend of Abigail Adams.

After the War

In 1788 the states were voting on the new Constitution. Warren wrote a pamphlet against it. She said it needed a bill of rights. She signed it "A Columbian Patriot." For many years people thought a man wrote it.

In 1805 Warren published a history of the Revolution in three books. She was one of the first women to write a history of the war. In the book she wrote about John Adams. He did not like what she said. He sent her angry letters in 1807. They did not write to each other for five years. In 1812 they made up. Mercy Otis Warren died in Plymouth on October 19, 1814. She was 86 years old.

Key facts to use in your script

For your Hook

In 1772 a Boston newspaper printed a play that made fun of the governor.
No author's name was printed.
The writer was Mercy Otis Warren, a mother of five.

For your Story

She wrote plays that made fun of the governor and his friends.
Her plays were printed in newspapers.
She left her name off because people thought politics was not a woman's business.
Patriot leaders knew she wrote them.

For your Wrap

In 1788 she wrote that the Constitution needed a bill of rights.
In 1805 she published a history of the Revolution in three books.
She was one of the first women to write a history of the war.

Source Spotlight: A Document from the Time

Warren, History of the American Revolution — the opening address Published 1805

Mercy Otis Warren wrote a history of the Revolution. It came out in 1805, about 22 years after the war ended. This part is from the first pages of her book. In it she speaks to the readers of the United States. She explains why she, a woman, wrote a history of a war.

Simplified version, not the source. These are not the writer’s words, so do not quote them. To quote, use the original words below.

Every face was solemn when the sword was raised. The horrors of civil war rushed toward homes not used to robbery and misery. They came even to the quiet cottage, where only peace and love had ruled. All this stirred her mind to watch. Her mind had never agreed that all politics lay "out of the road of female life."

It is true that each sex has its own proper duties. No doubt it is the special job of manly strength to drive off the bold invader of the rights of his country and of all people. It is his job too to tell, in strong manly words, the story of the bloody field and the slaughtered armies.

Knowing this, her trembling heart drew back from such a big task. Her hand often pulled back from the work. But every joy at home depends on keeping civil and religious liberty. […] So the work was not given up.

Read the original (the real words you can quote)

The solemnity that covered every countenance, when contemplating the sword uplifted, and the horrors of civil war rushing to habitations not to scenes of and misery; even to the quiet cottage, where only concord and affection had reigned; stimulated to observation a mind that had not yielded to the assertion, that all political attentions lay out of the road of female life.

It is true there are certain appropriate duties assigned to each sex; and doubtless it is the more peculiar of masculine strength, not only to repel the bold invader of the rights of his country and of mankind, but in the nervous style of manly eloquence, to describe the blood-stained field, and relate the story of slaughtered armies.

Sensible of this, the trembling heart has recoiled at the magnitude of the undertaking, and the hand often shrunk back from the task; yet, recollecting that every domestic enjoyment depends on the unimpaired possession of civil and religious liberty […] the work was not .

Make it yours: Warren names a reason people might object to her book. Then she answers it. In your own words, why does she say a woman may write the history of a war?

Mercy Otis Warren, History of the Rise, Progress and Termination of the American Revolution, vol. 1 (Boston, 1805), "An Address to the Inhabitants of the United States" · See the source

On March 26, 1772, readers of the Massachusetts Spy, a Boston newspaper, found half a page filled with scenes from a play. The play was set in a faraway land ruled by a greedy man named Rapatio. No author's name was printed. Readers in Boston knew who Rapatio stood for. He was Thomas Hutchinson, the royal governor of Massachusetts. The writer was a mother of five from Plymouth named Mercy Otis Warren.

Learning With Her Brothers

Mercy Otis was born in 1728 in Barnstable, Massachusetts. Girls then did not go to college, and most got little schooling. Her father let her study with her brothers under their uncle, a minister who was their tutor, a teacher who taught them at home. Her brother James Otis Jr. became a lawyer. In 1761 he argued in court against British searches of ships and homes. In 1764 he wrote a pamphlet saying that Britain could not tax the colonies without their consent.

Plays Against the Governor

In 1754 Mercy married James Warren, a merchant from Plymouth who later served in the Massachusetts legislature. They had five sons. Their house in Plymouth became a meeting place for Patriots, including John Adams and Samuel Adams.

In the 1770s Warren began writing satire, writing that uses humor to attack people in power. Her plays The Adulateur (1772), The Defeat (1773) and The Group (1775) were printed in newspapers. They were meant to be read, not acted on a stage. They showed Hutchinson and his friends as greedy men who sold out their country. Warren published them anonymously, without her name. Most people then believed politics was not a woman's business. Patriot leaders knew who wrote the plays. She exchanged letters with John Adams and became a close friend of Abigail Adams.

After the War

In 1788 the states were deciding whether to approve the new Constitution. Warren published a pamphlet against it under the name "A Columbian Patriot." It argued that the Constitution needed a bill of rights. For more than a hundred years, readers believed a man named Elbridge Gerry had written it.

In 1805 Warren published a history of the Revolution in three volumes. It was the first full history of the war written by a woman. In its opening pages she answered people who said that politics "lay out of the road of female life." The book also described John Adams, by then a former president, in ways he did not like. In 1807 he sent her a series of angry letters, and the two stopped writing to each other. They made up in 1812. Mercy Otis Warren died in Plymouth on October 19, 1814, at the age of 86.

Key facts to use in your script

For your Hook

On March 26, 1772, the Massachusetts Spy printed a play mocking Governor Hutchinson as "Rapatio."
No author's name was printed, but the writer was Mercy Otis Warren.
As a girl she studied with her brothers under their uncle, which was rare then.

For your Story

Her plays The Adulateur (1772), The Defeat (1773) and The Group (1775) were printed in newspapers.
They showed Hutchinson and his friends as greedy men who sold out their country.
She published anonymously because most people believed politics was not a woman's business.
She exchanged letters with John Adams and was a close friend of Abigail Adams.

For your Wrap

In 1788 she published a pamphlet saying the Constitution needed a bill of rights.
In 1805 she published a three-volume history of the Revolution, the first full history of the war by a woman.
Her book angered John Adams in 1807; they made up in 1812, and she died in 1814.

Source Spotlight: A Document from the Time

Warren, History of the American Revolution — the opening address Published 1805

Mercy Otis Warren of Plymouth, Massachusetts, published her history of the American Revolution in 1805. That was twenty-two years after the war ended. It was the first full history of the war written by a woman. This passage is from the address to readers at the front of the book. She wrote it to answer people who said politics was not a woman's business, and to explain why she took on the work.

Simplified version, not the source. These are not the writer’s words, so do not quote them. To quote, use the original words below.

Every face was solemn as people watched the sword being raised. The horrors of civil war were rushing toward homes not used to scenes of plunder and misery, even the quiet cottage where only peace and affection had ruled. All this stirred to observation a mind that had not given in to one claim. The claim was that all political attention lay "out of the road of female life."

It is true that there are certain proper duties assigned to each sex. No doubt it is the more special province of masculine strength to drive back the bold invader of the rights of his country and of mankind. It is also his province, in the strong style of manly eloquence, to describe the blood-stained field and tell the story of slaughtered armies.

Aware of this, her trembling heart drew back at the size of the undertaking. Her hand often shrank back from the task. Yet she remembered that every enjoyment of home depends on keeping civil and religious liberty whole. […] So the work was not given up.

Read the original (the real words you can quote)

Make it yours: Warren names the objection to her book and then answers it. Put her argument in your own words: why does she say a woman may write the history of a war?

Mercy Otis Warren, History of the Rise, Progress and Termination of the American Revolution, vol. 1 (Boston, 1805), "An Address to the Inhabitants of the United States" · See the source

On March 26, 1772, readers of the Massachusetts Spy, a Boston newspaper, found nearly half a page filled with scenes from a play. The play was set in a faraway country called Upper Servia, ruled by a greedy man named Rapatio. No author's name was printed. Readers in Boston knew who Rapatio stood for. He was Thomas Hutchinson, the royal governor of Massachusetts. The author was a 43-year-old mother of five from Plymouth named Mercy Otis Warren.

Learning With Her Brothers

Mercy Otis was born on September 25, 1728, in Barnstable, Massachusetts. Girls then could not attend college, and most received little schooling. Her father let her study with her brothers under their uncle, the Reverend Jonathan Russell, who was their tutor, a teacher who taught them at home and prepared the boys for Harvard. Her brother James Otis Jr. became a lawyer. In 1761 he argued in court against the writs of assistance, papers that let British customs officers search any ship or house for smuggled goods. In 1764 he wrote a pamphlet arguing that Parliament could not tax the colonists without their consent. In 1769 a customs official struck him on the head during a fight, and he never fully recovered.

Plays Against the Governor

In 1754 Mercy married James Warren, a merchant and farmer from Plymouth who later served in the Massachusetts legislature. They had five sons. Their house on North Street in Plymouth became a meeting place for Patriots, including John Adams and Samuel Adams. In the 1770s Warren began writing satire, writing that uses humor and exaggeration to attack people in power. Her plays The Adulateur (1772), The Defeat (1773) and The Group (1775) were printed in newspapers and as pamphlets. They were meant to be read, not performed on a stage. They showed Hutchinson and his supporters as greedy men who sold out their country for the king's favor.

Warren published the plays anonymously, without her name. At the time most people believed politics was not a woman's business. Patriot leaders knew who wrote the plays. She exchanged letters with John Adams about government and the war, and she became a close friend of Abigail Adams.

The Constitution and the History

After the war Warren kept writing. In 1788, as the states debated whether to approve the new Constitution, she published a pamphlet called Observations on the New Constitution under the name "A Columbian Patriot." It argued that the Constitution gave the national government too much power and needed a bill of rights. For more than a century, readers believed Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts had written it.

In 1805 Warren published History of the Rise, Progress and Termination of the American Revolution, in three volumes. It was the first full history of the war written by a woman. In its opening pages she answered those who held that "all political attentions lay out of the road of female life." The book also described John Adams, by then a former president, as a man whose prejudices and passions had sometimes been too strong for his judgment. In 1807 Adams sent her a series of angry letters, and the two stopped writing to each other. They made up in 1812. Mercy Otis Warren died in Plymouth on October 19, 1814, at the age of 86.

Key facts to use in your script

For your Hook

On March 26, 1772, the Massachusetts Spy printed scenes of The Adulateur, which mocked Governor Thomas Hutchinson as "Rapatio," with no author's name.
The author was Mercy Otis Warren, born in 1728, who had studied with her brothers under their uncle, the Reverend Jonathan Russell.
Her brother James Otis Jr. argued against the writs of assistance in 1761 and against taxation without consent in 1764.

For your Story

Her satires The Adulateur (1772), The Defeat (1773) and The Group (1775) were printed in newspapers and meant to be read, not staged.
They showed Hutchinson and his supporters as greedy men who sold out their country for the king's favor.
She published anonymously; Patriot leaders knew who wrote the plays.
Her house on North Street in Plymouth was a meeting place for John Adams and Samuel Adams.

For your Wrap

In 1788 she published Observations on the New Constitution, arguing it needed a bill of rights.
Her 1805 three-volume History was the first full history of the Revolution written by a woman.
Its portrait of John Adams brought a series of angry letters from him in 1807; they reconciled in 1812.
She died in Plymouth on October 19, 1814, at 86.

Source Spotlight: A Document from the Time

Warren, History of the American Revolution — the opening address Published 1805

Mercy Otis Warren published her three-volume history in 1805 — the first full history of the Revolution written by a woman. In its opening pages she answers, in her own voice, the claim that politics "lay out of the road of female life." One artifact to know: in the original printing, most letter s’s appear as the old "long s" (ſ), so the page literally reads "aſſigned to each ſex." We have modernized those letters; the words are hers.

Make it yours: Warren names the objection to her book — then answers it. Put her argument in your own words: why does she say a woman may write the history of a war?

Mercy Otis Warren, History of the Rise, Progress and Termination of the American Revolution, vol. 1 (Boston, 1805), "An Address to the Inhabitants of the United States" · See the source

On March 26, 1772, readers of the Massachusetts Spy, a Boston newspaper, found nearly half of page three filled with scenes from a play. The play was set in a faraway country called Upper Servia, ruled by a greedy official named Rapatio. No author's name was printed, and a second installment followed on April 23. Readers in Boston knew who Rapatio stood for. He was Thomas Hutchinson, the royal governor of Massachusetts. The play was called The Adulateur. The author was a 43-year-old mother of five from Plymouth named Mercy Otis Warren.

Learning With Her Brothers

Mercy Otis was born on September 25, 1728, in Barnstable, Massachusetts, the daughter of a farmer, lawyer and judge who served in the colonial legislature. Girls then could not attend college, and most received little schooling. Her father let her study with her brothers under their uncle, the Reverend Jonathan Russell, who was their tutor, a teacher who taught them at home and prepared the boys for Harvard. Her brother James Otis Jr. became a lawyer. In 1761 he argued in court against the writs of assistance, papers that let British customs officers search any ship or house for smuggled goods. In 1764 he published a pamphlet, The Rights of the British Colonies Asserted and Proved, which argued that Parliament could not tax the colonists without their consent. In 1769 a customs official struck him on the head during a fight in a Boston coffeehouse, and he never fully recovered.

Plays Against the Governor

In 1754 Mercy married James Warren, a merchant and farmer from Plymouth who had been a friend of her brother at Harvard. He later served as speaker of the Massachusetts House and as president of the Provincial Congress. They had five sons. Their house on North Street in Plymouth became a meeting place for Patriots, including John Adams and Samuel Adams. In the 1770s Warren began writing satire, writing that uses humor and exaggeration to attack people in power. Her plays The Adulateur (1772), The Defeat (1773) and The Group (1775) were printed in the Massachusetts Spy and the Boston Gazette and as pamphlets. They were closet dramas, plays meant to be read rather than performed, and Massachusetts had outlawed stage plays in any case. They showed Hutchinson and his supporters as greedy men who sold out their country for the king's favor.

Warren published the plays anonymously, without her name. At the time most people believed politics was not a woman's business, and a woman who wrote about it in public risked her reputation. Patriot leaders knew who wrote the plays. John Adams praised her writing and sent her news from Congress, and she became a close friend of Abigail Adams. The two women exchanged letters for forty years.

The Constitution and the History

After the war Warren kept writing. In 1788, as the states debated whether to approve the new Constitution, she published a nineteen-page pamphlet called Observations on the New Constitution under the name "A Columbian Patriot." It argued that the Constitution gave the national government too much power, allowed a standing army, and had no bill of rights. For more than a century, readers believed Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts had written it. Historians settled the question in the 1930s from Warren's own letters.

In 1805 Warren published History of the Rise, Progress and Termination of the American Revolution, in three volumes. Hannah Adams had published a shorter account of the war in 1799, and Warren's was the first full history of the war written by a woman. In its opening address she answered those who held that "all political attentions lay out of the road of female life," and she admitted that "the hand often shrunk back from the task; yet ... the work was not relinquished." The book also described John Adams, by then a former president, as a man whose prejudices and passions had sometimes been too strong for his judgment. In July and August 1807 Adams sent her ten angry letters, and the two stopped writing to each other. Their friend Elbridge Gerry helped bring them back together in 1812. Mercy Otis Warren died in Plymouth on October 19, 1814, at the age of 86.

Key facts to use in your script

For your Hook

On March 26, 1772, nearly half of page three of the Massachusetts Spy carried scenes of The Adulateur, set in "Upper Servia" under the greedy "Rapatio," with no author's name.
Readers knew Rapatio was Governor Thomas Hutchinson; the author was Mercy Otis Warren of Plymouth.
Her brother James Otis Jr. never fully recovered after a customs official struck him on the head in 1769.

For your Story

Her plays were closet dramas, meant to be read, printed in the Massachusetts Spy and the Boston Gazette; Massachusetts had outlawed stage plays.
In 1788, as "A Columbian Patriot," she argued the Constitution allowed a standing army and had no bill of rights.
Readers credited the 1788 pamphlet to Elbridge Gerry until historians settled it in the 1930s from her letters.
She and Abigail Adams exchanged letters for forty years.

For your Wrap

Her 1805 History answered those who held that "all political attentions lay out of the road of female life."
Hannah Adams published a shorter account in 1799; Warren's was the first full history of the war by a woman.
In July and August 1807 John Adams sent her ten angry letters over her portrait of him; Elbridge Gerry helped reconcile them in 1812.
She died in Plymouth on October 19, 1814, at 86.

Source Spotlight: A Document from the Time

Warren, History of the American Revolution — the opening address Published 1805

Make it yours: Warren names the objection to her book — then answers it. Put her argument in your own words: why does she say a woman may write the history of a war?

Mercy Otis Warren, History of the Rise, Progress and Termination of the American Revolution, vol. 1 (Boston, 1805), "An Address to the Inhabitants of the United States" · See the source

Where these facts come from

Part of Revolutionary Voices. Same facts at every level — only the language changes.