Born: May 8 th, 1753 Died: December 5 th, 1784 SYDNEY SZOPO

PHILLIS WHEATLEY Wheatley was brought to the british ruled boston shipped over as a slave by the ship name “The Phillis”. At 8 years old, she was sold to a slave by the name John Wheatley. She was named Phillis because of the ship she was sent on. within 16 months she could read difficult passages in the Bible. At 12 she began studying Latin and English literature, especially the poetry of Alexander Pope. At the age of 20, the Wheatleys sent her to England for health. Nobody could ignore Phillis Wheatley’s intelligence She was writing poems about her experiences and her role models such as George Washing leading to “To His Excellency General Washington”.

TO HIS EXCELLENCY GENERAL WASHINGTON The poem was sent to George Washington, the newly appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Armies of North America, in October of 1775, well before American Independence was declared in Washington, as busy as he was with organizing the colonies to take on the British, sent a letter back to Wheatley thanking her for the poem and inviting her to visit him if she ever came to Massachusetts. The two did meet in March of 1776, seven years before the war was finished and true independence was declared. The poem anticipates the future for the new republic, and praises the efforts of the military leader and first president. She used rhyming to make her poems smoothing and flow.