Mercy Otis Warren- Significant Person Project

A person who can change history with her arguments and thoughts. A person who can help others even when she faces difficulties. A person who left a place in history. Mercy Otis Warren, a respected, pure, and religious woman who stayed strong and helped give justice. Step into her world where you will be introduced with every characteristic, struggle, importance, and impact she made.

“A superfluity of wealth, and a train of domestic slaves, naturally banish a sense of general liberty, and nourish the seeds of that kind of independence that usually terminates in aristocracy.”  Mercy Otis Warren had once said.

Mercy Otis Warren was an important historical figure that changed and made a difference in history. She was a very smart, fair, and humble person who couldn’t stand situations that were unfair. She would express her thoughts and feelings through a unique way- writing, since she was a writer. When Mercy would feel something was wrong, she would immediately write arguments in favor of independence.

Through her writing, she also helped people in the American Revolution. One example of how she changed certain laws were, she thought that the taxes were too high, and workers were paid too little or sometimes not even paid. She also thought that women were not given the same rights as men to fight in battlefields. She wanted to change all that so she wrote arguments and protested, influencing American Patriots. It was said that women were not allowed to write and talk about politics but Mercy changed that too. Moreover, she encouraged people in Massachusetts to become patriots. She was the main cause for freedom and change in history. Her actions set an example to people and changed history for the better.  

Life wasn’t as perfect and smooth as butter, there were challenges Mercy Otis Warren had faced. She faced sudden incidents, and when she thought she was ready for it, there was really nothing she could do. One of the first tragedies she had faced was her older brother, Jemmy got badly injured by the Loyalist enemies. She had nearly lost one of her dearest companions. It was like a dark cloud had released on her, she wasn’t able to move on! After some time, Jemmy’s body had healed, but his mind didn’t. He was declared insane. Mercy knew that she wasn’t going to let her personal life interfere with her professional, and so she tried to move on. What more could she do? Just as she was getting used to the incident, another obstacle came her way. Lots of people on the ground, dead- it was the Boston Massacre. Mercy couldn’t help anyone, she needed to help herself! The Patriots refused to buy the british goods, everything was in a mess, but helpless Mercy couldn’t do anything. Another problem for her and the people were that the taxes were too high. Moreover, workers were paid too little. Even extra work didn’t get them anywhere. Mercy knew this was unfair, and this time she could do something to solve the problem. She wrote. She wrote like crazy, writing arguments and protests to help. She knew that this was causing problems for not only her and the people, but the workers’ families as well. They were struggling and weren’t able to survive. Even though Mercy’s life wasn’t as perfect as we thought it was, she stayed strong and never gave up. Through her tragic times, she stayed positive and hoped for the best. In the end, she somehow helped people even when she didn’t!

If I “put myself in Mercy shoes”, I probably wouldn’t have the strength and courage to concentrate on my professional life, when so much is going on in my personal life. If we take the incident where her older brother, Jemmy, got badly injured and declared insane, I would feel like I have twice the burden of handling my people. She had lost her dearest companion who had helped, and supported her through times that she was stumped. Mercy had to deal with everything ALONE. It must have been very hard to move on, and try not to think about it. If we look at the time the Boston Massacre happened, I wouldn’t be able to take very good care of the town because I would need to look after my brother and my family. I would probably also fall short of supplies. The taxes were too high, nobody was able to buy the british’s expensive goods. It was a harsh treatment on their part, and everything was a mess. Mercy Otis Warren had to go through a lot. All the decisions she made, I probably would not be able to handle all that.

Mercy still holds great importance because without her, life would probably not have been the same in present day. From the impact, to going through what she had gone through, Mercy changed what was wrong, and tried to make her surrounding, a better place.