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Birth
Mercy Otis Warren was born on September 25 1728. She was born into a family of all boys. This was important because it was the beginning of her life. -
Mercy's Education Begins
Around the time that Mercy was 9 years old, she began going to lessons with her brothers. Most girls at the time were not educatated on anything but cooking or sewing, the things you would need to run a household. Mercy began going with her brothers and learning about the history of the world adn famous writings. She would have lively conversations with her brother about politics up until he went to Harvard in 1740. -
Becomes engaged to James Warren
In 1748 Mercy Otis became engaged to her brother's friend James Warren. They had an unusually long engagement of 6 years. James let Mercy think and valued her ideas as much as a mans- an unusual for the time. Mercy Otis Warren wouldn't have been able to influence the American Revolution if she had been married to someone who believed that women should be seen or not heard. -
Marries James Warren
Mercy Otis married James Warren after a 6 year engagement. We don't know the exact date, but we know it was in November 1754. James believed that a woman's ideas were just as important as a man's. James let Mercy continue to think and come up with new ideas. He encoraged her to think, letting Mercy become a writer and influence the American Revolution. -
Inherit's family farm
James' father died, leaving Mercy and James the family farm and his position as a sheriff. -
James Warren Jr.'s Birth
Mercy Otis Warren gave birth to her son, James Warren who was named after his father. This was her first son out of five boys that she had. Mercy had different views on parenting than what her church taught. She believed in positive reneforcement and that parents were examples for their children. Parenting was another thing that Mercy thought differently about than most people. -
Writes First Poem- Winter
Mercy Otis Warren wrote and published her first poem, On Winter, in 1759. This was the beginning of her career as a writer. -
Winslow Warren is born
Mercy's second son Winslow Warren was born in 1759. LIke her son James' birth this even had effect on her courage to stand out from others. Mercy had different views on parenting than what her church taught. She believed in positive reneforcement and that parents were examples for their children. Parenting was another thing that Mercy thought differently about than most people. -
Charles Warren is born
Charles Warren, Mercy Otis Warren's third son, was born in 1762. This was another oppertunity for Mercy's unique view to stand out. Mercy had different views on parenting than what her church taught. She believed in positive reneforcement and that parents were examples for their children. Parenting was another thing that Mercy thought differently about than most people. -
Henry Warren is born
In 1764, Mercy's fourth son Henry was born. This was another oppertunity for Mercy's unique view to stand out. Mercy had different views on parenting than what her church taught. She believed in positive reneforcement and that parents were examples for their children. Parenting was another thing that Mercy thought differently about than most people. -
James is elected to Massachusettes House of Representatives.
James Warren was elected to the Massachusettes House of Represenatives and as a result began spending more time away from home. Mercy missed him and was upset that he was away from home so often. She wrote a play called To J. Warren, Esq.: An Invantation to Retirement. In the poem, she asked James to give up politics and return home. This was a pattern that would return later in life. -
George Warren is born
In 1766, Mercy's fifth and final son, George, was born.This was another oppertunity for Mercy's unique view to stand out. Mercy had different views on parenting than what her church taught. She believed in positive reneforcement and that parents were examples for their children. Parenting was another thing that Mercy thought differently about than most people. -
Brother James Otis is injured.
Mercy Otis Warren's brother was a big influence on her life. James Otis was very involved in politics in Massachusettes. He was inside a Boston coffeehouse when he ran into John Robinson, a customs offical. they began to argue which soon turned violent. Robinson and his friends beat Otis with there canes, causing serious injuries to his head. He didn't die from the beating but was never the same. He was a motivational speaker, but his words did not have the same effect that they had before. * -
Hutchinson's Appointment
Thomas Hutchinson, the Otis families' greatest enemy was appointed Governor of Massachusetts after the current Governor was removed by the King of England for letting colonists riot in the streets. Mercy felt that if her brother had not been injured, he would have written a phaplet about it. She decided to take up where he had left off by writing her own play about him. -
First Play, The Adulateur, appears in newspapers
After Hutchinson was appointed Govenor of Massachusettes, Mercy decided to carry on what her brother would have done if he had not been injured. She wrote a play featuring a cruel government lead by a govenor name Rapatio, who represented Hutchinson. The hero of the play was her brother, who was Brutus, a honest, patriotic senator. This play marked the beginning of Mercy's political career thorought writing. -
Mercy's second play, The Defeat, appeared in newspapers
After the Adulateur, Mercy wrote another play. It was a sequel to the Adulateur with Brutus and Rapatio coming back. In the end of this one, Rapatio and his followers were beaten. Mercy was saying that the Patriots would defeat the loyalists. However, the play portraid that the colonist would not get independance from the war. Both plays helped many people change their minds about what side of the Revolution to believe. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea party was when colonists dumped chests of tea out of Boston Harbor. More than 90000 pounds of tea were dumped. John Adams wrote to James Warren about it, wishing that someone would write a poem about it. A month later, a poem, The Squabble of the Sea Nymphs appeared in newspapers. Mercy Otis Warren did not put her name on the piece, but many people knew that she wrote it. -
The Group, Mercy's third play is published
In 1775, Mercy's third play was published in the Boston Gazette. The majority of the characters in this play were women. The play made fun of British officals, saying that they were corrupt and cared only about money. The play ended with a Tory woman making a speech which left a character named Freedom crying on stage. Many patriots were inspired to keep working for freedom so that she would not be left crying on their stage. -
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Revolutionary War
Most of Mercy's writting is about the fight between the Patriots and the Loyalists, including her plays and several poems. Mercy lived thought the war and was influenced by it when she was writting. She also influenced the war by her writing, causing many people to pick the patriot side over the loyalists. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
Mercy's husband James and her brother James were both at the battle of Bunker Hill. After the battle, Mercy began to worry about her families safety, from her husband to her son at Harvard, even her four other sons at home. After the battle, she asked James to come home. He left the army and even declined a position on the Massachusettes Supreme Court to be with Mercy. Patriot Leaders began to think of James as a quitter, which later kept him from important government postions. -
Against the New Republic
Mercy's husband had slowly dropped out of the patriot elite during the war, so when it was over he was not given any important government positions. Mercy began to feel resentment towards old friends and was shocked to see them take on the airs of british nobels. She even began to write plays against the new republic. -
Observations on the New Consititution
After the new consitution was published, many famous patriots such as Samuel Adams and Thomas Jefferson felt that it gave too much power to one person. James Warren began writing essays against it. In 1788, a pamplet called Observations on the New Constitution was published. The author was listed as A Columbian Patriot. The real author, though, was Mercy Otis Warren.The phamplet listed reasons why the states should not ratify the new consitution. Eventually, after the Bill of Rights was ** -
History of the Rise, Progress and Termination of the American Revolution is published
Mercy Otis Warren decided to write an American History book. What came out was the History of the Rise, Progress, and Termination of the American Revolution which was published in 1805. It had 31 chapters and more than 1200 pages. After reading it, John Adams wrote an angry letter to Mercy after she critizied him. They ended up entering an argument that did not end until after James Warren's death. -
Husband James Warren Dies
James Warren died at the age of 84 in 1808. Mercy honored him in a poem where the first letters of each line spelled out James Warrren. -
Death
Mercy Otis dies in Plymoth, Massachusetts. This was the end of her life.
