One of the best-known poets of the 18th century, Phillis Wheatley became a household name among literate colonists, and her published poems helped spur the emerging antislavery movement. Born in West Africa in 1753, Wheatley was seized and sold into slavery when she was about seven years old. She was purchased by Susanna and John Wheatley of Boston, who noticed her intelligence. While they still required Wheatley to take on domestic household tasks, her enslavers began to educate her. After learning how to read and write, Wheatley began to study the Bible, astronomy, geography, history, British literature, and Greek and Roman literature. Her first poem was published when she was 13 years old.

As Wheatley began to write more poems, she realized that many New England colonists would not support literature written by an African woman. So she and the Wheatleys turned to London, where the abolitionist movement was gaining momentum, to continue to publish her work. Wheatley’s Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral  was published in 1773. It was the first volume of poetry by an African American published in modern times.

While her poems often focused on classical themes, many of which celebrated America, Wheatley often used Biblical references to condemn slavery and spoke about the need to treat Africans with humanity. Her works were celebrated by many of the nation’s founders, including George Washington, John Hancock, and Benjamin Rush. Wheatley was manumitted from slavery in 1774 and continued to write until her death in 1784.