The presidents of the U.S. are very important people. Every president made a piece of history and without them, history wouldn’t be the same. Although, the ones that were unfortunately assassinated made a bigger impact. This is because they would become martyrs and people would continue their legacies. Two key presidents in U.S. history would be, J.F.K. and Abraham Lincoln. Both presidents were killed and remembered. Elegies were written for both of these presidents. “O Captain! My Captain!” by Walt Whitman, was written about Abraham Lincoln, and “Elegy for J.F.K.” by W.H. Auden, was written for J.F.K. Both of these poems had a great impact on the U.S., and they have been read many people worldwide as well. The poems, “O Captain! My Captain!”
Walt Whitman is one of nine children, he grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and Long Island and was faced with many different aspects of society. Growing up he had a great fascination of the atmosphere of Brooklyn which led him to journalism at the age of twenty. In 1855 Walt Whitman self-published a collection of poetry, Leaves of Grass which was expanded and revised through many editions until the ninth “deathbed” edition which was published in 1892. His brother was wounded in Fredericksburg Virginia, shortly after Walt Whitman traveled to see him. Once he saw the aftermath he was compelled to work as a nurse in Washington, D.C. as a volunteer nurse, in this time he wrote many more poems. On March 26,1892 he passed away from pleurisy, his funeral drew thousands and his casket could not even be seen do to the amount of wreaths on it.
The essay was written by Bruce Catton; who compares the lives and characteristics of two Civil War leaders who put an end to the civil war in a meeting. Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee. According to Bruce Catton, they were two powerful men who survived from the civil war in 1856. Lee was from Virginia, he was of an old age of chivalry. He believed there should be an “inequality within Americas social Structure;” he had a sense of entitlement obligation to community, he was an aristocratic south, he believed in what the culture and tradition of his country; The other General, Ulysses S. Grant, aspired for America that were the opposite
The Civil War was a unique and significant event in American history. According to many historians, the war was ultimately the final resolution of contradictions in the vision of America when the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776. It stated that “all men are created equal” and “endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights”. The war’s origins lay in slavery, which began in North America in the early 1600s and grew rapidly in the South, which caused the southern economy as a whole depended on heavily on slave labor leading up to the Civil War. Slavery, the splitting of which state would be slave or free, and Abraham Lincoln played a major role that was responsible for the nature of the war than any other individual.
President Abraham Lincoln, in his inaugural address, addresses the topic of the civil war and its effects on the nation and argues that America could be unified once more. He supports his claim by using massive amounts of parallel structure and strong word choice. Lincoln ‘s purpose is to contemplate the effects of the civil war in order to unite the broken America once again. He adopts a very hopeful tone for his audience, the readers of the inaugural address and others interested in the topic of American history and the civil war.
Walt Whitman lived a life full of change. He often wrote about it through his poems during the Civil war era about how he opposed slavery and would like them to be free, and a huge inspiration for his poems was Abe Lincoln and the idea of reuniting the South with the North again and also how he helped the wounded soldiers at a hospital in the Union Capital in The United States.
The United States Civil War is possible one of the most meaningful, bloodstained and controversial war fought in American history. Northern Americans against Southern Americans fought against one another for a variety of motives. These motives aroused from a wide range of ideologies that stirred around the states. In James M. McPherson’s What they fought for: 1861-1865, he analyzes the Union and Confederate soldier’s morale and ideological components through the letters they wrote to love ones while at war. While, John WhiteClay Chambers and G. Kurt Piehler depict Civil War soldiers through their letters detailing the agonizing battles of war in Major Problems in American Military History. In both books, readers are able to understand the motives of the war, attitudes of Americans and the hostility of battles through the letters of soldiers.
Walt Whitman was an American poet and journalist born on May 31, 1819. Whitman was influenced by transcendentalism, which was an idea emphasizing that to understand nature, one must analyze the reasoning or process behind it. Whitman had done many writings throughout his life that had been inspirations for other poets. For example, in the spring of 1855, Whitman published “Leaves of Grass”, which was a collection of twelve unnamed poems. This writing was enticed by Ralph Waldo Emerson, who thought that the collection of poems were “the most extraordinary piece of wit and wisdom.” Many people throughout the century noticed the ideologies that Whitman portrayed in his writings, and it is still evident today. In “Fahrenheit 451”, Ray Bradbury
The end of the Civil War presented a unique crossroads for the war torn United States. How would the North and South reunite? At the helm, there was a moderate politician and a reflective thinker – President Abraham Lincoln. One of the greatest statesmen of all time, Lincoln had advocated a lenient stance, envisioning a “restoration” whereby the southern states would pledge allegiance and reenter the Union under the Constitution. Lincoln had proved to be a great negotiator and had worked successfully during the war to join opposing sides to unite behind the Emancipation Proclamation and passage of the 13th Amendment. Lincoln appealed to the common man and was revered by many of his era. To poet Walt Whitman, “he was democratic, charitable,
The American Civil War changed Americans and their ideals about freedom in many ways.Northern and Southern United states began to have simmering tensions for the states’ rights versus federal authority, plus westward expansion, and slavery had huge effects on the states. An election which made anti-slavery Republican Abraham Lincoln the president of the United States of America in 1860, caused seven of the southern states to concede from the Union to make The Confederate States Of America soon after four more joined afterwards. It changed Americans in many ways as neighbors fought each other through the 4 gruesome years of the war. Conflict between the sides were like fights between brother and brother instead with many deaths. Northern Americans had
Walt Whitman captures his audience’s attention with his realism poetry and free verse poetry throughout much of his life as a poet. Whitman was a man of the civil war era and in his poem “The Wound-Dresser” shows his life experiences in the war come full force in the way he conveys his contribution in the civil war. His view of the war as a wound-dresser and he describes some of the most horrendous scenes imaginable from the eyes of an everyday man. His poem “The Wound-Dresser” doesn’t show the war from a distance, but from right on the battlefield in its unedited version as written by Whitman. The way Whitman conveys his poems of the everyday man’s life in his time-period is presented by utilizing his realism style to connect to the audience and his gruesomely descriptive vocabulary.
Among numerous other poets, Walt Whitman is unquestionably the greatest supporter of democracy. Of course, many of English romantic poets were faithful adherents of democracy. However, Whitman’s vision of democracy was much more vivid and realistic. It can be stated that he was a systematic follower of political realities. He denounced all prerogatives and vested interest and reflected complete harmony between the individual and society. Walter Whitman was transcendentalist who believed in individual freedom and democracy and it definitely affected his poetry which is mainly focused on the ideas of democracy, equality, and brotherhood. For instance, in the poem Song of Myself, Whitman puts an emphasis on equality of all men and women. To him, all individuals are equal and all professions are equally honorable. In his interpretation, Whitman states that the freedom which is offered by democracy is for all should include all people, and not renounce those of other races, whether any social standings. This essay will focus on the main ideas presented in Whitman 's vision of equality in democracy in his Song of Myself.
Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address is one of the most practical yet inspiring speeches in the history of the United States. As Morrison points out in his article, Lincoln’s refusal to encapsulate the somber tragedies of Gettysburg in his speech is an effective method that fairly portrays just how indescribable the gruesome events of Gettysburg were.Furthermore, Wills argues that Lincoln's subtle and simple words are powerful enough to describe the situation at Gettysburg as a proof of the winning ideology. Essentially, Lincoln calculates his words tactfully to express that the ideological fight of the war is more important than the wars military importance. But as Kaplan points out, Lincoln’s address also serves as a monologue of advice and unity for the public to swallow during a period of gruesome
By doing this Whitman introduces himself and at the same time identifies with the reader. He also states that he should be celebrated not only by himself, but also by the reader because they are the same. He also gives off a feeling that his writing is true and good, we get the feeling he is one of us and at the same time a poet. This leads to comparing Whitman with a preacher or public speaker of some sort, he wishes to be
When reading the poems “The road not taken” by Robert Frost,and “O’Captain,My Captain” by Walt Whitman it is evident that both have a great deal of distinctions, as well as commonalities. The first poem,“The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost is a symbolic story of a young man discovering his path in life.“The Road Not Taken” begins during Autumn, in the woods. The speaker,a young man, takes a stroll along a road. Eventually,he reaches a point in which the road diverges into two. Knowing that “way leads onto way”, it is not likely he will come back. The man must make an important decision regarding which path he will pursue. The speaker, on an impulse, decides to be daring, and take the road less traveled upon. He possibly chose the less taken road, frightened by the idea of missing out on something significant. However, the author predicts that he took the wrong path. In his opinion, he will regret his choices further down the road. He says he shall be telling his story with a sigh once the time is right. The path would negatively impact his future.