Phillis Wheatley

Slavery was the contradiction of the new nation that had stated that "all men are created equal" and have "inalienable" rights to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Furthermore, many of the country's leaders believed that the African slaves were inferior to whites. No
one was familiar with the idea of slaves writing poetry, since most slaves were not even allowed to learn to read and write. Given the hardships
of life in early America, it is ironic that some of the best poetry was written by a very talented slave woman, named Phillis Wheatley.
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