# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Phillis Wheatley clip from series "Great African American Authors"

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
CML Presents: Phillis's Big Test by Catherine Clinton

# data[].attributes.body
This poem serves as a break up letter from Phillis to the Colonies. After a trip to England she found greater support in the then mother country. Wheatley personifies the states through this poem, what are some characteristsic that she highlights for the time period?

# data[].attributes.body
Phillis Wheatley was born in modern-day Senegal around 1753. At only about 7 years old she was kidnapped from her home and sold into slavery. She was sent to the colonies and soon arrived in the Boston Harbor aboard the Phillis which she was later named after. Phillis was sold to a tailor named John Wheatley and his family. Her main role was to serve John’s wife, Susanna. During her time with the Wheatley’s Phillis learned to speak english and later was taught to read and write by the Wheatley children. This was not common for enslaved people and the Wheatley’s recognized Phillis’s desire and passion to learn and continued to teach her. She very quickly learned Latin, greek, and even Hebrew. This level of knowledge was even rare for women at the time, but Phillis continued to yearn for more knowledge. In 1773 while in her twenties, Phillis became a published author. She continued to write, critiquing the world around her, especially the Revolutionary War. She often wrote to then General George Washington on her opinions on the war and its impact on the growing colonies. As the war came to an end The Wheatleys passed away and Phillis became a free woman. She married and continued to write everything on her mind. It wasn't until many years after her death that her work was truly appreciated. She became an inspiration to black artists across the country.

# data[].attributes.body
In this poem, Phillis expresses her joy over seeing the artwork of S.M. Towards the end Wheatley incorporated Greek Mythology to give the reader a sense of unease and sadness. She connects the loss of an artist's work to death. During her time Phillis broke many barriers, How could her work and the work of S.M. impact those that came after them? Use your understanding of the time period and subsequent events.

# data[].attributes.body
It was in Providence that Phillis learned of Washington’s appointment by the Continental Congress to take command of the American forces in Massachusetts, which he did upon his arrival in Cambridge in September 1775. In response to the news, she composed a patriotic poem in Washington’s honor, later published as "His Excellency General Washington." She sent the poem in manuscript to Washington at his headquarters in Cambridge, across the Charles River from British-occupied Boston. Washington’s exuberant reaction might seem surprising to modern readers, remembering him as a slave owner. But it becomes more understandable when one reads the poem itself.

# data[].attributes.body
Below is a letter Wheatley wrote to the Earl of Dartmouth. It outlines Phillis's and the Colonists hopes that the new Earl would be a less tyranical leader and not support the continuation of slavery

# data[].attributes.body
Washington's Response to Wheatley

# data[].attributes.body
Wheatley wrote this letter to General George Washington just a few months after the Revolutionry war began. The war had already lefts its mark on the soldier and citizens of the colonies. Phillis uses great detail to provide the reader with imagery for America at the time. How does this imagery connect with the vision the colonists had for the United States and their independence? Use evidce from the text to support your asnwer

# data[].attributes.body
Phillis was bought by John Wheatly and his wife in Boston in 1761

# data[].attributes.body
Phillis was born in Senagal, Africa around 1753. As a child she was kidnapped and sold into slavery