Warren, Mercy Otis (1728-1814), was a colonial American writer. Her most important work was the three-volume History of the Rise, Progress, and Termination of the American Revolution (1805). She had helped encourage prorevolutionary feeling by satirizing the British colonial government in the plays The Adulateur (published in 1773) and The Group (published in 1775). Both were widely read but apparently not performed.
Warren had extensive knowledge of political affairs and was a close friend of many leaders of the revolution, who included her brother, James Otis, and her husband, James Warren. Mercy Otis Warren expressed her political convictions even when they were unpopular. For example, she opposed ratification of the U.S. Constitution because she felt it gave too much power to the federal government. She favored increased safeguards for individual liberties and equal opportunities for women in education and public affairs. Warren was born on Sept. 25, 1728, in Barnstable, Massachusetts. She died on Oct. 19, 1814.
