camila ortega

per 3
Mr.silva
12/8/14

Walt Whitman

Walter Whitman was born 1819 on Long Island, New York. He was the second of
eight children. He was pulled out of school at the age of 11 to support his family,
because his dad couldnt alone. At the age of 17 he started teaching at a one classroom
school, but he had his eyes set one being a writer. Shortly after teaching he started a
paper called the long islander. He wrote thing that most people considered to be a
radical position.
On another note he was mostly known by his poetry. Alot of people considered
his poetry to be obscene. Walt changed the fact that poetry always had to rhyme. He
started free verse were poetry didnt have to rhyme it was just words that meant
something in a different way and good way. He was well know in Boston in a not so
good way. He had at least 8 published copies of leaves of grass. Published the first one
in 1855 didnt sell as good as he hoped, actually sold very poorly. All this doesnt explain
why he was considered a hero to America, but I will tell you what does.
Walt wrote about things that wasnt usual for a whiteman to write about
at the time. He wrote about how slaves should be free, and new states should make
slavery illegal. Whitman also wrote about womens rights. He didnt stop there he
wrote very good about president Lincoln, agreed with Lincoln that slavery should be
band and the soldiers in the war. He volunteered at the hospital with wounded soldiers.
Walter was also devoted to the young republic. They say he wrote poetry to bind
America and Americans. Yes this is only the statements, and no one just wants the
statements so let me expand on some of them, as many as I can and as many as I so
wish.
I think the most important thing he wrote about was slavery and he he felt toward
it, because he was obviously against it, and it wasnt usual for a whiteman at that time to
be against it at his time. Whitman first talked about it in the newspaper. He was
involved in the free soil movement in Buffalo. He was involved in this before writing
poetry, so when he did turn to poetry he wrote much about slavery and how african
americans are just like any whiteman. Walter first thought about writing about slavery
when things in kansas and he was compelled to write about slavery and then there came
the first edition of leaves of grass. Thats why he thought it was going to be a huge hit
and that it would sell easily. Walt wrote about this topic in hopes of having a better
democratic America in the future. Walt was a brave man, I believe he was, to write
about such things. He did make a difference in this world with his words if he didnt why
would people talk such great things about him to this day.
Another great thing I feel people should know him as is his passion for soldiers in
the civil war, maybe because his brother was in that war or maybe because he loved to
volunteer at the hospital with wounded soldiers. When his brother was wounded he
went to see him in Washington, there he realized he had a passion for talking to
wounded soldiers, so he did it when he could. He talked to all of them at once as a
speech and then to some of them alone, one on one. Walt felt like he could inspire them
to believe what he thought was right, he would talk to them about slavery and he would

talk about their dear President Lincoln. He gave the soldiers hope, to keep fighting for
what was right it gave them a good feeling.
The other thing I feel people should know about whitman is his admiration
towards Lincoln. The absurd thing about them too is that they both saw each others
work and both admired each others work, but they never met. Whitman did write about
lincoln after his death because he looked up to him because did look up him maybe
because he was also against slavery maybe for another reason, but he did look up to him
in a good way. Lincoln did read Whitman's poetry and he read it to his colleges. Walts
most famous poem towards Lincolns death is called, O captain! My captain! He didnt
only write that poem for Lincoln, but it gave people hope. Much of his work gave many
humans hope.
Walt Whitman did many things in his lifetime and he did get to see his work
flourish. He believes that his work gave people hope and that it help the world get
better, and many people believe he did and there are many reasons to believe he did.

Bibliography

Walt Whitman Birthplace State Historic Site and Interpretive Center."Www.waltwhitman.org.

N.p., 2009. Web. 01 Dec. 2014.

Leanne French, Leanne. "Walt Whitman Biography." Bio.com. Ed. Laura Laura Grimm. A&E
Networks Television, n.d. Web. 01 Dec. 2014
"How Walt Whitman Changed The World of Poetry & What You Can Learn From It." Nebo. N.p.,
2014. Web. 2 Dec. 2014
Zwonitzer, Mark. "Walt Whitan." American Express. N.p., 2009. Web. 2 Dec. 2014