MERCY OTIS WARREN
West Barnstable, Massachusetts
September 24,1728–October 19, 1814
Drama Queen
Since Mercy Otis Warren could not carry a sword during the Revolutionary War, she wielded a pen, which was almost as lethal in her hands. She had an acute grasp of politics, particularly as they applied to the outcome of the war, which she expressed in plays, poems, pamphlets, and letters. Even though it was a man’s world in the 1700s, men certainly recognized her value to their patriotic cause. She was a rarity for the time: a woman who was not shy about voicing her opinion in public about independence.
Education by Osmosis
Mercy was raised at a time when families were either fierce Tories or patriots. There was no in between. The Otis family was decidedly in the patriot camp.
Her father, James Otis Sr., was adamantly opposed to King George III’s policies, and he was outspoken against Massachusetts’ governor, Thomas Hutchinson. His feelings rubbed off on his three children.
Mercy Otis’s father believed fervently in the value of a solid education, especially for his sons. That turned out to be an advantage for her. James Sr. hired the Reverend Jonathan Russell to tutor her brothers to prepare them for entry into Harvard. Reverend Russell allowed Mercy to sit in on his lessons and use his library. It was not a formal education for Mercy, but it gave her a background that she used later to needle the British and support the patriots.
Quotations to Live (and Die) By!
“TELL YOUR WIFE THAT GOD ALMIGHTY HAS ENTRUSTED HER WITH THE POWERS FOR THE GOOD OF THE WORLD, WHICH, IN THE CAUSE OF HIS PROVIDENCE, HE BESTOWS ON FEW OF THE HUMAN RACE. THAT INSTEAD OF BEING A FAULT TO USE THEM, IT WOULD BE CRIMINAL TO NEGLECT THEM.”
—JOHN ADAMS IN A LETTER TO JAMES WARREN
Marriage did nothing to change Mercy’s political views. In fact, it strengthened her patriotic fervor. She married her second cousin, James Warren (no relation to Joseph or John Warren), in 1754. As a result, she developed strong friendships with the anti-British leaders of the rebellion in Massachusetts—and their wives. One of the women with whom Mercy Warren was closest was the considerably younger Abigail Adams. She was both mentor and friend to Abigail.
FEDERAL FACTS
James Warren served for a time as the Continental Army’s paymaster. Even though he held the rank of general in the provincial militia, Warren did not participate actively in the war after the fighting ended in Massachusetts. He refused to serve under Continental Army officers of lesser rank.
The Warrens hosted many meetings of the radicals in their home. Noted leaders such as John Adams, Samuel Adams, and John Hancock sought her advice on what to do and how to do it. As a result, she became an activist, rather than just a listener, an unusual position for a woman at the time.
The Pen Is Mightier Than the Sword
Mercy wrote a series of pamphlets, poems, and plays to stir the hearts and minds of the people of Massachusetts. One of her favorite targets was Governor Hutchinson, whom her father and brothers had criticized vocally for many years.
REVOLUTIONARY REVELATIONS
Mercy Warren wrote plays even though there were no theaters in Boston at the time. They were published in newspapers instead. Two pre-war political satires in particular, The Adulateur (1773) and The Group (1775), caught the public’s fancy.
Mercy was aware that she was upsetting many Tories because of her writings. That did not deter her. She also recognized the dangers the patriots faced by openly defying the British and all they could lose. The potential perils did not force her to stow her quill in the inkwell and leave it there.
Quotations to Live (and Die) By!
“BUT OH! THE DREAD OF LOSING ALL THAT THIS WORLD CAN BESTOW BY ONE COSTLY SACRIFICE KEEPS MY MIND IN CONTINUAL ALARMS.”
—MERCY OTIS WARREN TO ABIGAIL ADAMS
Warren continued to write after the war ended and the country had settled down enough to concentrate on creating the Constitution and Bill of Rights. She published two poems in 1790, known collectively as “Poems Dramatic and Miscellaneous.” They were “The Sack of Rome” and “The Ladies of Castile.”
Mercy Otis Warren’s best-known work was the three-volume History of the Rise, Progress, and Termination of the American Revolution, which she finished in 1805.
Warren started writing a history of the Revolutionary War while it was in progress, when the events were fresh in her mind. It was not a successful commercial venture for her. She was one of the few people who paid a price for the book.
Publication cost her the friendships of John and Abigail Adams, albeit temporarily, and upset friends and readers because of the way she portrayed some of the patriots.
Quotations to Live (and Die) By!
“MR. ADAMS’ PASSIONS AND PREJUDICES WERE SOMETIMES TOO STRONG FOR HIS SAGACITY AND JUDGMENT.”
—MERCY OTIS WARREN IN THE HISTORY OF THE RISE, PROGRESS, AND TERMINATION OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
Mercy Has Her Doubts
Even though Mercy favored independence, she was not sold on the need for a U.S. Constitution. Neither was her husband. Warren resorted to her pen to campaign against the Constitution. She stated her objections in a 1788 document, Observations on the new Constitution, and on the Federal and State Conventions. Following the custom of the time, she signed it with a pen name, “A Columbian Patriot.” For a time, people believed that it had been written by Elbridge Gerry.
Once she learned that her protests were being ignored, she campaigned to have equal rights for women included in the Constitution. That fell on deaf ears, too.
Quotations to Live (and Die) By!
“DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES ARE THE RESULT OF EQUALITY OF CONDITION.”
—MERCY OTIS WARREN
Mercy’s Last Few Years
Mercy’s history book was her last significant publication. She continued her correspondence with friends and family between then and 1814, when she died. One of her final achievements was to mend her rift with John and Abigail Adams.
Mercy Otis Warren died at eighty-six. Death, however, did not silence her voice. It is still being heard through her numerous writings two centuries later.