Th: Jefferson presents his compliments to mrs Warren & returns her the paper she had been pleased to inclose to him with his own subscription & that of the heads of departments … he learns with great satisfaction that mrs Warren’s attention has been so long turned to the events which have been passing. the last thirty years will furnish a more instructive lesson to mankind than any equal period known in history. he has no doubt the work she has prepared will be equally useful to our country & honourable to herself.
Thomas Jefferson to Mercy Otis Warren, February 8, 1805
Patrick Lee’s Explanation
Empowering leaders encourage the marginalized.
The Massachusetts born Warren (1728-1814) was a strong supporter of American independence. She wrote prolifically on its behalf but always under a pen name, since female authors were almost unheard of. In 1790, she published a book of poems and plays under her own name. In 1805, she completed a three volume history of the United States, the first written by a woman.
It is that history Thomas Jefferson referenced in this letter. He was buying copies of her work for himself and his cabinet members. He had no doubt her seminal work would “be equally useful to our country and honourable to herself.”
