Literary Focus G8: Phillis Wheatley and the American Revolution

What was the British strategy regarding enslaved people during the American Revolution?

• They offered freedom to enslaved people who joined their army

• They refused to allow enslaved people to participate

• They paid enslaved people to spy on colonists

• They sent enslaved people back to Africa

Why was Phyllis Wheatley's literacy achievement especially remarkable?

• She was older than most students

• She mastered English in just 16 months

• She was the only person in Boston who could read

• She invented a new way to teach reading

Which of these best explains why the Wheatleys encouraged Phyllis's education?

• They needed her to work as a teacher

• They wanted to prove African people could learn

• They were following colonial laws about education

• They wanted her to become a military leader

What made Phyllis Wheatley historically significant as an author?

• She was the first woman to write poetry in America

• She was the first person to write about George Washington

• She was the first African-American and enslaved person to publish a book of poems

• She was the first person to write in both English and Latin

Why did Phyllis Wheatley likely choose to support George Washington, despite his being a slave owner?

• She believed he would pay her for her support

• She saw him as a potential champion for liberty

• She was forced to write in his favor

• She didn't know he owned enslaved people

How did George Washington's response to Wheatley demonstrate something unusual for the time?

• He treated her with respect and called her 'Madam'

• He offered to free all his enslaved people

• He appointed her as his official poet

• He made her an military advisor

What deeper message was Wheatley trying to convey through her writing?

• That the British were better leaders than the colonists

• That women should have more rights in society

• That African Americans were human beings capable of intellectual achievement

• That poetry was more important than politics

Based on the video, what was unique about Wheatley's publishing achievement?

• She was the only person publishing during the Revolution

• She was the third woman and first African-American to publish poetry

• She published more books than any other colonial author

• She published in three different languages

What evidence suggests the Wheatleys' attitude toward Phyllis changed over time?

• They eventually emancipated her

• They moved her into their main house

• They sent her to college

• They made her a business partner

Why might Wheatley's poems have been particularly powerful during this time period?

• Because most colonists couldn't read or write

• Because they challenged assumptions about African Americans' capabilities

• Because they were written in multiple languages

• Because they were set to popular music