Like many other slaves, Phillis Wheatley came to America as a young girl. Traveling from Gambia, Phillis experienced the trauma of the Middle Passage in the same way thousands of other slaves did. Upon arrival in America, Phillis was then bid for and sold in an auction, in the same manner most slaves experienced. However, once bought by John Wheatley, a wealthy and well-respected Boston merchant, her life began to differ from more typical slave experiences. John and his wife Susannah quickly took notice of Phillis' curiosity, intelligence, and eagerness to learn. They then allowed her to begin learning to read and write; as she grew older, she immersed herself in subjects like history and geography, and even learned Latin, French, and Greek. Phillis then began writing poetry, which would eventually go on to be published. Despite the success of her publications, Phillis was never freed; she remained a slave until her death in 1784.

Slavery in the Northern colonies often deviated from "the forms of slavery that characterized the South and the Caribbean. Under Northern slavery, slaves lived in their masters' homes and were understood as integrated into their families. Both in this inclusion of the hierarchy of master-and-slave within the legitimating rubric of "the family" and in its economic functions, Northern slavery was distinctive" (Thorn 73).