Mercy Warren Satire

Mercy Otis Warren was not a promoter of women’s suffrage, nor was she a contemporary feminist. She was, however, an advocate of women’s participation in public politics. Warren had an independent mind and heart and the Revolution questioned the standard rules of political freedom for women at the time, persuading the once-obedient lady to add her own thoughts about the War.

Warren was the typical calm, submissive Puritan wife—until the War began. She was willing to give up her life to God, but there were two things that she could not and would not let go of: education and politics (which was quite odd for a woman during the 17th Century). While her older brothers had their own private tutor, Mercy had to do without one but still had the passion …show more content…
Warren also wrote a series of satires, all of which were published anonymously in patriotic presses. Many who read her severe satires were amazed, but they did not know the author was a woman. Mercy Warren often fretted about her writing due to her Puritan background. Her best admirer, John Adams, usually wrote to encourage her to write more. In October of 1773, she penned a poem which she simply titled “To Mr. Adams” to help her friend keep up the patriotic fight. Although having a deep friendship between them, Warren and Adams experienced very different perspectives of the war. Adams helped drive Congress to independence, while Warren did her best to support her husband James back in Massachusetts. However, she was not a big fan of his Massachusetts constitution, which lacked a bill of rights. To counter it, Warren wrote “A Columbian Patriot,” in which she argued that several important liberties had been left out; Warren felt betrayed by Adams’ beliefs in politics. Thus, the two exchanged fiery letters, accusing the other. No matter, Warren stood firmly in Adams’ boiling anger. She knew that men were better when it came to fighting invaders and giving public speeches on