Primary sourceLetter1776
Letter to Obour Tanner, 1776
Phillis Wheatley · 1776
A handwritten letter from Phillis Wheatley to her friend Obour Tanner, an enslaved woman in Newport, discussing the Revolutionary War.
A personal letter in Wheatley's own hand, showing her private voice and friendship with Obour Tanner.
About this source
What it is
This is a surviving autograph letter written by Phillis Wheatley in 1776 to Obour Tanner, an enslaved woman living in Newport, Rhode Island, with whom Wheatley corresponded regularly. In it she responds to Tanner's letter and reflects on the ongoing Revolutionary War.
Why it matters
The letter offers a rare direct glimpse of Wheatley's private voice, outside her published poetry, and of her friendship with another Black woman during a period of upheaval. It shows her reacting personally to the Revolution's events and expressing religious reflection on conflict and ambition.
Look closer
- How does Wheatley's tone in this private letter compare with her published poems?
- What does her friendship with Obour Tanner tell you about networks among Black women at this time?
- What does she avoid saying directly about the war and why might that be?
This letter is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Phyllis Wheatley on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.
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