Walt Whitman was born on May 31, 1819 in Long Island, New York. He was on the many reformers who contributed to the Antebellum Period. Although he is recognized widely for his poetry, many don’t remember his written contribution towards anti- slavery. Walt Whitman was the poster child of the motto “ The pen is mightier then the sword”. Walt Whitman used his pen and his intellect to influence a generation through a hard and confusing time.
Walt Whitman's involvement with slavery began when he joined the newspaper editorials on the 1846 Wilmot Proviso. The Wilmot Proviso stated that “ that slavery was to be excluded from territory acquired in the war with Mexico”, was blocked by the senate in 1847 after the debate. Despite the Wilmots defeat, the bill gave rise to the great “ Free-Soil” movement that lead to the formation to the free soil party. Whitman showed his interest in the Free Soil party through his first editorials at the Newspaper Organization ‘Brooklyn Daily Eagle’ until he was fired for his strong views on slavery in 1850.
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In 1847 the poetry that he wrote showed a clear link between Poetry and his attitude towards slavery which was against the view of his family and the people around him. One of his poems proclaimed"I am the poet of slaves and of the masters of slaves / I am the poet of the body / I am.” (Notebooks 1:67). Whitman defined what he thought of slavery and stood up to whomever was believed otherwise. He said what most people in his time were afraid to say. Furthermore he added “ I go with the slaves of the earth equally with the masters.” This point of view was hated by most southerners and his family. However, influential people like Ralph Waldo Emerson appreciated his work and tried to promote anti- slavery through the