Although she was an African slave, Phillis Wheatley was one of the best-known poets in pre-19th century America. Certainly, the idea that American liberty is divinely-ordained is a major theme for Wealthy's poems. Washington is portrayed as the type of virtuous leader that could only have been chosen by God to lead the country to freedom.
Her love of Virgin America as well as her religious fervor is further suggested by the names of those colonial leaders who signed the attestation that appeared in some copies of Poems on Various Subjects to authenticate and support her work: Thomas Hutchinson, governor of Massachusetts; John Hancock; Andrew Oliver, lieutenant governor; James Bowdoin; and Reverend Mather Byles. Another fervent Wheatley supporter was Dr. Benjamin Rush, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.