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Mercy Otis Warren

By Debra Michals, Ph.D. | 2015

Mercy Otis Warren was a published poet, political playwright and satirist during the age of the American Revolution—a time when women were encouraged and expected to keep silent on political matters. Warren not only engaged with the leading figures of the day—such as John, Abigail, and Samuel Adams—but she became an outspoken commentator and historian, as well as the leading female intellectual of the Revolution and early republic.

Born on September 14, 1728 in Barnstable, Massachusetts, Warren was the third of thirteen children of James Otis and Mary Allyne Otis. Her exposure to politics began early; her father was an attorney who was elected to the Massachusetts legislature in 1745. Like most girls at the time, Warren had no formal education; hers came from sitting in on her brother’s lessons, where she took a particular interest in history and politics. She also made extensive use of her uncle’s large book collection to educate herself.

In 1754, she wed the politically active James Warren, a classmate of her broth

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Mercy began by writing various political plays, criticizing the crown’s policies and Loyalist officials in Massachusetts, especially the family nemesis, Governor Thomas Hutchinson.[3] Her first play, The Adulateur, was anonymously published in a local newspaper in 1772. The play was set in the mythical kingdom of Servia, and the characters paralleled controversial political figures of the time. Mercy intended to instigate conflict between the colonists and colonial officials by portraying Governor Hutchinson, known as Rapatio in the play, as “a tool” who would “stop at nothing to achieve his personal ambitions,” even if it meant sacrificing others.[4] She ended the play by foreshadowing the possibility of a full-scale revolution, writing that soon people may have to take up arms to defend their liberty and “murders, blood and carnage,/ Shall crimson all these streets.” [5]

Mercy published The Defeat in the Boston Gazette in 1773 as a response to the publication of a series of letters written by Hutchinson, in which he articulated his belief that the most strategic way to m

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COLLECTION GUIDES

Collection Summary

Abstract

This collection consists of the papers of Mercy Otis Warren (1728-1814), author and patriot from Massachusetts. Also included in the collection are her son Winslow Warren's letters and journals, 1781-1785.

Biographical Sketch

Mercy Otis Warren, author, historian, and patriot, was born in Barnstable, Massachusetts, on 14 September 1728. She was the third of thirteen children and the first daughter of James Otis (1702-1778) and Mary (Allyne) Otis. She was educated by her uncle Rev. Jonathan Russell and sat in on her brother's lessons as he prepared for Harvard. While at Harvard, her brother continued to suggest books for her to read.

Warren's interest and involvement in politics began early and continued throughout her life. Her father worked as a lawyer, judge, and colonel of the militia, and her brother James Otis, Jr. (1725-1783) was an outspoken opponent of the writs of assistance. In 1754, Mercy Otis married James Warren (1726-1808), who would go on to become a member of the Massachusetts legislature, and the Warrens hosted