His time....

The great poet of the nineteenth century, Walt Whitman, once said that "democracy can never prove itself beyond cavil, until it founds and luxuriantly grows its own forms of art, poems, schools, theology, displacing all that exists, or that has been produced anywhere...". Walt Whitman did just that during his many years of life by producing poetry and essays that changed the way Americans thought. His words were the influential keystone that gave the Americans hope during the Civil War, and after its conclusion. He aided the sick, gave the common man hope, and showed  dreams of democracy and a land free of turmoil and sectionalism. Throughout Whitman's life, there were many things that influenced his character and ideas but his biggest achievement was his role in the Reconstruction Period after the Civil War, both physically and mentally.

Whitman's style of writing can be clearly correlated to his childhood, and his free spiritedness and individualism was a main factor is his writing. Whitman had a very unique and controversial style of writing, especially for his time, and his views and ideas did not always match up with the social structure of America. In many of his writings, the theme of sex is readily seen and he was not ashamed to discuss his dreams, despite living in a time of secrecy and humbleness. He was never afraid to express his accomplishments or ideals in his work and he wrote like a strong American, which was what the United States needed at that time.

The Civil War was a long, arduous war that dragged out for many years. It was very bloody and many of its soldiers died in combat. After Civil War, a glorious period of rebuilding, known as the Reconstruction Era, began, and many people chose to help out in their own unique way. Walt Whitman was no exception, and throughout the Civil War and Reconstruction Era he helped the American citizens get their life back on the track to success, with his works and pieces of literature. His essays and poems created a tremendous picture of democracy, and they gave the Americans hope that their country could be rebuilt into the strong nation that it once was.