The Yankee Poet - Walt Whitman (Article87)

“You are either to abolish slavery, or it will abolish you”– Walt Whitman, addressing Southern politicians.

 “The proof of a poet is that his country absorbs him as affectionately as he has absorbed it.” – Whitman on his aspirations

 “The ship is anchor'd safe and sound, its voyage closed and done;” – From “Oh Captain, My Captain” Whitman’s moving poem on the tragic death of Abraham Lincoln

Later in his life he became a central figure in American literature, after his death he was crowned by academia as a poetic genius, and, even today, his poems and free verse are studied, and admired, by many. But he struggled to find his place in the mid-19th century. He was born in 1819, a middle son with six brothers and, at age eleven, ended his formal schooling to help support his family. He worked at several newspapers, learning to set type, and other mechanically necessary tasks of the printing business, but also began to include his own essays and some early poetry in the publications. His commentary was often controversial and, on more than one occasion, cost him his job. He was a teacher for a while but admitted he was not very good at it and often only stayed at a school for a short time. His family, while not wealthy, helped support him during those periods when he was not gainfully employed, and he would even periodically move back to his father’s Brooklyn home or the home of one of his brothers.

But he believed in his ability to speak for the common man through his essays, poetry, and occasional fictional story; so, he continued to write for them. In about 1845, Whitman began to express his aversion to slavery, but not because he was concerned with the plight of the slave as he was no abolitionist. He was only concerned that slave-labor could harm working class Americans. He joined the “Free Soil” movement which held, as a central premise, that the expansion of slavery would threaten the opportunities for livelihood of free White workers as businesses expanded into the western territories. He became a vocal, and published, spokesman for the so called “Barnburners” of the northern Democratic party and he was even a delegate to the Free Soil Party’s convention in 1848. Their rhetoric was, however, so narrowly focused on threats to White workers, that those who wanted to abolish slavery distanced themselves from the movement. William Lloyd Garrison, a leading abolitionist, labeled the Free Soilers’ position as “Whitemanism” and declared them to be enablers of continued slavery in the South.

 But by the early 1850s, his poetry became less political and he began to expound more on provocative social issues. In 1855, he self-published a collection of poems and essays titled “Leaves of Grass” and soon found himself the center of attention (some good and some not so good) among the literary leaders of the day. His work was praised by no less than Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, but was panned by many in the popular press. His most vociferous critics, however, were the clergy and moralistic politicians. By today’s standards “Leaves of Grass” is at most suggestive; but to many in that era, it was considered obscene. The book was not an instant financial success and Whitman had to continue working as an editor; however, over the next two years, the resulting publicity made the book a best-seller. And, as sales climbed, he was finally recognized as a notable poet. For the next ten years, Whitman regularly produced an expanded edition of “Leaves of Grass” with additional new poems; and, with each new edition, his legion of readers grew.

Whitman during the Civil War- Mathew Brady Photograph

As Civil War loomed in 1860, he began to write more about the unity of the nation and the threat posed by secessionists; and he became dedicated to preservation of the Union. He did not support the war as a means to abolish slavery and only opposed the expansion of slavery to new states or territories. He thought Civil War, if and/or when it came, should only focus on returning seceded states to the Union. For that reason, and that reason alone, he believed the war was necessary. Whitman contemplated service in the Union Army when the Civil War broke out, but he was forty years old and had never been very vigorous. However, his younger brother, George, joined the Army and George’s letters led Whitman to write a new poem titled, “Beat! Beat! Drums!” which extolled the sacrifice of young men who left hearth and home to preserve the Union. The poem became popular at rallies throughout the North.

 However, his brother’s service led to a new, very different chapter in the life of Walt Whitman. In December 1862, he was reading the “New York Tribune” and saw the name, First Lt. G. Whitmore, listed as wounded in Virginia. He became convinced that it must be a mis-spelling of his brother’s name because he had not received a letter for about two weeks; so, Walt set out on a southern trek to find his brother. Once he crossed into Pennsylvania, with the exception of an occasional ride with a farmer, he had to walk the rest of the way, since public transportation was not available. Whenever he would encounter Union soldiers, he would inquire about his brother’s New York unit. At one point, his questions caused an officer to suspect he might be a Confederate spy, but, after a few tense moments, Whitman was able to convince the officer that he was earnestly trying to find his brother. He later wrote, “I was trying to get information and trying to get access to big people (Generals) who could direct me.” After two weeks on the road, he remarkably located George in a field hospital and the two had an emotional, but brief reunion. As it turned out, George had been slightly wounded, but would return to his unit within a few days.

 Walt, however, could not go home!

The horrific scenes of wounded and dying young men, stacks of amputated limbs, and bloodied doctors and nurses working without enough rest at the field hospital, shook Walt Whitman to his core. He decided to travel to Washington DC and offer whatever service he could to help those who were wounded while fighting to preserve the Union. He quickly found his “calling” and Walt Whitman became a nurse!

 At that time, there was no preparatory medical training for nurses, just very difficult on the job experience, and male nurses were valued because they could attend to men with more “sensitive” injuries. He found a part time job in a government office that would allow him to spend 8-10 hours every day as a nurse in area hospitals. In 1863, trying to describe his ongoing compassionate, but difficult task, Whitman wrote an essay “The Great Army of the Sick” which was published in newspapers throughout the Northern states. His dedication to his nursing duties bordered on zeal and won him the admiration and praise from many of his countrymen; however, there were those who could not forgive his “moral lapses” found in some of his poems. Secretary of Treasury, Salmon Chase spoke out against Whitman because of the “disreputable” content in “Leaves of Grass” and Secretary of the Interior James Harlan even sought his dismissal from his part time work for the same reason. But nothing deterred Whitman from his medical mission.

Then, the assassination of Abraham Lincoln in April 1865, moved Walt Whitman to write two of his most famous poems. Whitman revered Lincoln and credited the sixteenth President with preserving the Union. He wrote the poem, “Oh Captain! My Captain” as a heartfelt tribute.

 “O Captain! My Captain! our fearful trip is done;
The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is won;
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring:
But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.

O Captain! My Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills;
For you bouquets and ribbon'd wreaths—for you the shores a-crowding;
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;

Here captain! dear father!
This arm beneath your head;
It is some dream that on the deck,
You've fallen cold and dead.

My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still;
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will;
The ship is anchor'd safe and sound, its voyage closed and done;
From fearful trip, the victor ship, comes in with object won;
Exult, O shores, and ring, O bells!
But I, with mournful tread,
Walk the deck my captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.”

About the same time, Whitman wrote a much longer poem titled “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d” in which he describes the grief of ordinary citizens as Lincoln’s funeral train passed small villages on its long route to Springfield. Interestingly, he never mentioned Lincoln’s name in either poem, both of which were, essentially, eulogies to the slain President.

 Even after the Civil War ended, Whitman continued to serve in hospitals caring for wounded soldiers for another year. He once wrote that his duties would end when the hospitals were empty of those he called “Lincoln’s men.”

 While Whitman admired Abraham Lincoln, they had never met; he frequently saw the President riding in a carriage and was present at the Second Inaugural Address.  He believed that Lincoln appropriately dealt with the states in rebellion; first by pushing the war to defeat the Confederacy, but then by being willing to welcome the prodigal states back into the Union. He also said that he appreciated Lincoln’s eloquence as a writer and speaker; however, to Whitman, although Lincoln had accepted the great mantle of Presidential responsibility, he was the quintessential common man.

 On the other hand, Whitman himself was a bit of an eccentric who held, and wrote of, unorthodox ideas for his time. He believed in public nudity, often bathed in frigid waters, was skeptical of religious dogma, promoted the consumption of only meat, and he sought the private company of both women and men. So, in his day, he had his share of critics, both of his lifestyle and of his literature.

 Today, while Whitman is still admired by many for his literary genius, he is, unfortunately, criticized by some in academia for failing to use his celebrity and his literary platform to oppose slavery, and the Jim Crow laws which followed, in the Southern states. However, he was a product of his times and such criticism seems unfair. After all, Walt Whitman was foremost a poet, not a political leader.  

 And, I am grateful to those humanities teachers who, long ago, forced me, as reluctant as I was, and I was very reluctant, to read his works.