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 meetings at their home in Plymouth for leading opponents of British colonial policies. The meetings were attended by many prominent revolutionary figures, such as John Adams and Samuel Adams.

Though Warren had been writing poems since 1759, she gained notoriety for her political dramas supporting the revolutionary cause and satirizing British representatives in the colonies. Her first play, The Adulateur, appeared in a Boston newspaper in 1772 and cast the royal governor of Massachusetts as the villainous Rapatio. Among Warren's other political plays were The Defeat (1773) and The Group (1775).

In 1788, Warren wrote Observations on the New Constitution, in which she articulated her reasons for opposing ratification of the Constitution. In 1790, she published Poems, Dramatic and Miscellaneous, a collection that included two verse dramas. But by far Warren's most important literary work was History of the Rise, Progress, and Termination of the American Revolution (1805), a three-volume history she had begun in the late 1770s. This work led to a public schism between her and John Adams; in it, Warren accused Adams of forgetting "the principles of the American revolution." After several years and a heated exchange of letters, Warren and Adams reconciled in 1812.

Mercy Otis Warren had five sons: James (1757), Winslow (1759), Charles (1762), Henry (1764), and George (1766). She continued to correspond with political and literary friends until her death in Plymouth on 19 October 1814.