Katie+K.+-+CRD+-+FA09



Name: ** Mercy Otis Warren
 * 
 * Group: ** Anti-Federalist
 * State: ** Massachusetts

Mercy Otis Warren was an American essayist, playwright, historian, and poet. Mercy was one of thirteen kids born in Barnstable, Massachusetts to Colonel James Otis and Mary Allyne Otis. She later married James Warren who was a prosperous merchant and farmer that knew her brother. James was involved in politics and Mercy was actively participating in politics through him. Their household became a meeting spot for the conflicts between Britain and the colonies and soon Mercy became a strong political voice on the issues of liberty, democracy, and independence. James encouraged Mercy to continue her writing and made her his chief correspondent and sounding board. Mercy gave birth to five sons; James, Winslow, Charles, Henry, and George. She also wrote many plays and poems about the Revolutionary War, the New Republic (Articles of Confederation), and the Constitution.
 * Occupation/Socio-economic Background: **

Mercy Otis Warren was not a member of the Constitutional Convention and therefore had no role in it. She was not part of the convention because she was a woman. Women were not allowed to be directly involved in politics; otherwise Mercy would have probably been greatly involved in the convention.
 * Constitutional Convention Member or not and why: **

Mercy Otis Warren was not a member of the State’s Ratifying Convention and therefore could not vote on the ratification of the Constitution. She was not a member of the convention because she was a woman, and women were not allowed to vote. If Mercy was in the convention she most defiantly would have voted against the Constitution because she was an Anti-Federalist.
 * State’s Ratifying Convention and how they voted: **

Mercy Otis Warren was against the ratification of the Constitution because she believed that if we created and accepted a powerful federal government while failing to give people their rights; we were acting against the ideas of the Revolution. In her pamphlet “Observations of the Constitution”, Mercy states all of her beliefs about how the Constitution would ultimately be against everything we fought for in the Revolution.
 * Arguments for/against the Constitution: **

Three people that were closely associated with Mercy Otis Warren were Patrick Henry, Samuel Adams, and John Hancock.
 * References: **

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">"Mercy Otis Warren -." //Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia//. Web. 18 Sept. 2009. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercy_Otis_Warren>. "Mercy Otis Warren." //Redirecting to atriustech.com//. Web. 18 Sept. 2009. <http://www.pinn.net/~sunshine/whm2002/warren.html>. "Viewpoint 8." //The Proposed Constitution Should Not Be Ratified//: 227-34. Print. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Bibliography: **