For You O Democracy

The year “For You O Democracy” appeared in print in a re-issue of Leaves of Grass (1860) was a pivotal year for both Whitman and the United States. This year was the precursor to the Civil War, which would erupt officially in 1861. However, in 1860, South Carolina seceded from the Union, a political motion that would spark even more state secessions that began in early 1861. Abraham Lincoln was elected as President of the United States in 1860. Lincoln would profoundly influence Walt Whitman, who, later in his career, would eventually write and publish poems like “O Captain! My Captain!” and “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom” in Lincoln’s honor. An event that did not have as much impact on Whitman’s career was the establishment and beginning of the Pony Express, an American express mail service which utilized the relays of horse-mounted riders and operated between Missouri and California.

In other parts of the world, 1860 held many significant political and social events. In correlation to the ever-growing movement against slavery in the United States, in the Netherland Indies, slavery ended. In the United States, the Democratic convention in Charleston, South Carolina would remain divided over slavery. While Walt Whitman did not directly criticize the institution of slavery, he did oppose the extension of slavery.