Concept 1: Family/Background and How They Present Themselves
– Whitman: Born on Long Island in 1819, moved to Brooklyn in 1823 because of lack of money – him and family had to move many times for that reason. Father was a “common man,” supported Jackson. Whitman very much presented himself as a common man too (eg Leaves of Grass cover photo). He sought to do away with the elitist language of poetry, putting the reader and writer on the same level.
– Lincoln: Came from a poor Southern farm family, did not have a good relationship with either of his biological parents (though did like his stepmother) – looked up to Henry Clay as a father. No formal education, but educated himself (parents didn’t see education as a priority?). Ambitious, perfect example of “self-made man.” Sought to distance himself from rural frontier life (somewhat opposite of Whitman?).
THESIS 1.1: Abraham Lincoln and Walt Whitman both came from similarly lower-class backgrounds, but went different directions from there. Lincoln tried to distance himself from his rural early life, giving himself an education and becoming a quintessential example of the “self-made man.” Whitman, on the other hand, embraced his “common man” image, and actively tackled what he considered to be the elitism of poetry and writing – even choosing to include a photograph of himself dressed like a farmer inside the cover of Leaves of Grass.
Concept 2: Beliefs on Slavery, Abolitionism, and Colonization
– Whitman: As far as I can tell (will have to do more research), Whitman was not a colonizer. He was definitely anti-slavery, and saw blacks as human (sees himself as a slave being whipped in one of his poems), but not an abolitionist. He was opposed to federal abolition, and thought states should make their own decisions regarding slavery (but hoped to encourage them to discontinue it).
– Lincoln: Following in the footsteps of his idol, Henry Clay, Lincoln was a colonizer (up until his death?). Like Whitman, he was anti-slavery, but not an abolitionist. He was against slavery in the new territories, but other than that was fairly “conservative” on the slavery issue. Lincoln prioritized preservation of the union over abolitionism, and was reluctant to give up his Whig identity for the more heavily anti-slavery(?) Republican party.
THESIS 2.1: Abraham Lincoln and Walt Whitman shared fairly similar beliefs on slavery and abolitionism early in their careers. Both of them were morally against slavery, and were opposed to its expansion. However, they were definitely not abolitionists, as they both feared that abolition would damage or destroy the Union. Whitman thought that the decision to keep or abolish slavery should be left up to the states, as did Lincoln until the last couple (how many exactly?) of years of the civil war. Whitman was fairly active in his opposition to the expansion of slavery (even getting fired from his job as the editor of the Brooklyn Eagle because of it. Talk about Lincon’s Peoria address?
Concept 3: Nationalism/Role of Government
– Whitman: Whitman seemed to prioritize states’ rights over the role of federal government, as is evident from his position that states should be the ones to decide whether or not to abolish slavery. He had a lot of pride in his country, as it was the subject of many of his poems – he even refers to America as “the greatest poem” (or something like that – need to find exact quote).
– Lincoln: Lincoln’s number one priority was to preserve the union. This took precedence over all of his other beliefs, including his anti-slavery views. He was a supporter of states’ rights over federal power, which he made very clear in his inaugural address.
Concept 4: Beliefs on Women’s Rights/Other Kinds of Reform (?)
– Whitman: Whitman was a supporter of women’s rights and female suffrage. He sees women’s equality as essential to the future of democracy, and was thoroughly against the idea of separate male and female “spheres” (Erkkila 137, and probably more pages – look for more info on this). In his poetry, he depicts himself as both male and female (Erkkila 77), showing that he truly believed that women were not inferior to men.
– Lincoln:
Concept 5: Political Parties and Evolution of their Party Affiliation
– Whitman: Like his father, Whitman started off as a democrat. He became editor of the Democratic newspaper the Brooklyn Daily Eagle in 1846, but was fired from his position in 1848 because of his active involvement with the Free Soil party (and their opposition to the extension of slavery). However,
– Lincoln:
Concept 6: How they Spread their Message/Were they Activists?
– Whitman:
– Lincoln: