Secondary sourceDocument1920
Wheatley, Phillis — Encyclopedia Americana entry
1920
A 1920 encyclopedia article summarizing Phillis Wheatley's life, poetry, and publication history.
A later encyclopedia summary of Wheatley's life and literary career, reflecting how she was remembered generations after her death.
About this source
What it is
This is a short biographical entry on Phillis Wheatley published in The Encyclopedia Americana in 1920. It summarizes her life from her arrival in Boston as an enslaved child to her poetry and later hardships.
Why it matters
Encyclopedia entries like this show how later generations remembered and summarized Wheatley's story, long after her death. It reflects the facts and interpretations historians agreed on by the early 20th century, including details about her education, her trip to England, and her book of poems.
Look closer
- What details does the entry include, and what might it leave out about her enslavement?
- How does the language used to describe her compare to how we might describe her today?
- Why might reference works like this matter for preserving a historical figure's memory?
This document 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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