Phillis Wheatley
PHILLIS WHEATLEY PETERS (c. 1753–1784)
Phillis Wheatley Peters was born around 1753 in West Africa, likely in the region of present-day Gambia or Senegal. She would become the first African American woman—and only the third American woman—to publish a book of poetry. Her work remains foundational to American literary history, not only for its achievement, but for the conditions under which it was created.
Kidnapped as a child and enslaved in Boston, Wheatley was purchased in 1761 by the Wheatley family, who named her after the ship that carried her across the Atlantic. Unlike most enslaved people of the period, she was educated within the household, learning to read and write English as well as Latin, Greek, history, and classical literature. This education, rare for any woman in the eighteenth century and nearly unheard of for an enslaved African child, allowed Wheatley to enter literary spaces that were otherwise closed to her.
By her teenage years, Wheatley was composing poetry that demonstrated both technical mastery and intellectual depth. Her work drew from classical traditions, Christian theology, and contemporary political events. In 1773, her collection Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral was published in London, making her internationally known. The decision to publish overseas was not incidental; American printers were reluctant to support the work of an enslaved Black woman, despite her growing reputation.
Wheatley’s poetry often navigates contradiction with precision. In “On Being Brought from Africa to America,” she addresses her enslavement through a Christian framework while simultaneously confronting the racist assumptions of her readers. Her work does not shout defiance; it asserts humanity through intellect, moral reasoning, and restraint. This subtlety has often been misread as compliance, when in fact it reflects a strategic use of the literary tools available to her.
Her poem “To His Excellency, General Washington” exemplifies this approach. Written during the Revolutionary War, the poem praises Washington as a symbol of liberty, prompting him to respond with admiration and invite her to meet him. The exchange marked a rare public acknowledgment of Black intellectual authority during the era. Wheatley also addressed the British crown in “To the King’s Most Excellent Majesty,” praising the repeal of the Stamp Act while implicitly gesturing toward the broader concept of freedom.
Religion plays a central role throughout her work. Poems such as “An Hymn to the Morning” and “An Hymn to the Evening” reflect deep engagement with Christian spirituality, while elegies like “On the Death of the Rev. Mr. George Whitefield” brought her widespread attention among colonial readers. Her classical poems—“To Maecenas,” “On Virtue,” and “Ode to Neptune”—demonstrate her command of form and her ability to place herself within established literary traditions that routinely excluded women and people of African descent.
Despite her success, Wheatley’s legitimacy was repeatedly questioned. In 1772, a panel of prominent Boston men examined her to verify that she had indeed written her poems herself. The event, now widely cited in literary history, stands as both a testament to her talent and a stark illustration of the racial skepticism she faced. That such a defense was required reveals as much about the period as it does about Wheatley’s extraordinary ability.
After gaining her freedom, Wheatley married John Peters and struggled financially. She lost children, faced increasing poverty, and was unable to publish a second volume of poetry during her lifetime. She died in 1784 at approximately thirty-one years old, in a boarding house, her husband imprisoned for debt and her grave left unmarked. Many of her later works were lost.
Today, Phillis Wheatley Peters is recognized not only as a pioneering literary figure, but as a catalyst in early antislavery discourse. Abolitionists frequently cited her work as evidence of Black intellectual and artistic capability. Her poetry challenged the foundations of racial hierarchy by existing at all—measured, articulate, and undeniably skilled.
Wheatley’s legacy is not confined to her biography or her historical “firsts.” It lives in the enduring presence of her work, which continues to be studied, debated, and reclaimed. Through discipline, intellect, and poetic control, she asserted her humanity in a world structured to deny it. Her voice remains one of the earliest and most powerful in the formation of American literature.
Sources & References
National Park Service, Phillis Wheatley Peters
National Women’s History Museum, Phillis Wheatley
Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, “Phillis Wheatley: Her Life, Poetry, and Legacy”
Historic Boston Inc., Phillis Wheatley
Study.com, Phillis Wheatley: Biography & Poems
“Phillis Wheatley,” educational lecture, YouTube