On this day in 1753, Phillis Wheatley was born. She was one of the greatest poets of her generation and was the First African American poet to be published in 1773, when her “Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral” was published in London. Her literary and artistic talents helped show that African Americans were as equally capable, creative, and intelligent as their Caucasian counterparts. Her efforts in part also helped to quicken the cause of the abolition movement. Please click on the link below to see a rare first-edition version of Ms. Wheatley’s poetry.

On this day in 1763, Pontiac’s Rebellion began. Chief Pontiac, an Odawa war chief led a confederation of Native American tribes including the Algonquin, Iroquoian, Muskogean, and Siouan tribes who were fighting back against British rule in the Great Lakes region. As a result of the conflict, the British began to reconsider their policies toward Native Americans. The war helped lead to the Proclamation of 1763, which forbade settlers from moving West past the Appalachians to avoid further Native American conflicts with settlers. Please click on the link below to learn more about Pontiac’s Rebellion.