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109 5. Whitman’s General I feel about literature what Grant did about war. He hated war. I hate literature. I am not a literary West Pointer. —Walt Whitman to Horace Traubel, 1888 The dramatic changes in the partisan press after the war matched the considerable upheaval in the post–Civil War political landscape in the United States. While the Democratic Party was clearly in disarray following the war, the Republican Party was also split between its more radical and moderate members, and the failed impeachment of Andrew Johnson brought the fault lines into stark relief. As Walt Whitman wrote to Moncure Conway in 1868, “Our American politics, as you notice, are in an unusually effervescent condition— with perhaps (to the mere eye-observation from a distance) divers[e] alarming & deadly portending shows & signals. Yet we old stagers take things very coolly, & count on coming out all right in due time” (Corr, 2:15). In spite of Whitman’s apparent nonchalance, he was watching events with considerable interest after the war, and his concerns were both national and personal. While the armed conflict was concluded, the fate of the restored Union still seemed very much in doubt, with riots in the South, Johnson’s pardon of a large number of Confederates and their prompt attempts to return to political power, and seething tension and animosity all around. In Congress, debates regarding impeachment of the president, enfranchisement, and amending the Constitution roiled the capital. At the same time, Whitman’s own career prospects were in at least some doubt: his position as a clerk in the attorney general’s office was now up in the air as he awaited the new appointments that would come with the change in administration . As numerous critics have noted, Whitman was highly attentive to all of these developments, and his correspondence bears this out, as his letters to family and friends make frequent reference to political developments and his employment situation. With so much at stake, one might expect the poet to be a fervent chaPtEr FIvE 110 supporter of Ulysses S. Grant, the candidate whose heroism during the war and whose campaign slogan “Let Us Have Peace” would seem to have made him an ideal subject for Whitman’s loyalty and enthusiasm . As his letters home during the war indicate, the poet followed the general’s career closely upon his taking command of the Union army, and he often spoke of his confidence in him. While his enthusiasm is not wholly lacking in his correspondence during the 1868 election , it is muted, and he occasionally appears to hedge his bets, as he does in his letter to Conway: “According to present appearances the good, worthy, non-demonstrative, average-representing Grant will be chosen President next fall. What about him, then? As at present advised , I shall vote for him non-demonstrative as he is—but admit I can tell much better about him some five years hence” (Corr, 2:15). Given that his assessment came during the same month that the New York Republican Convention nominated the general for the presidency, one would expect Whitman might express his strongest support for the candidate. His relative reticence and willingness to withhold his own opinion until history offered its own judgment is noteworthy. Perhaps Whitman took his cue from Grant himself, who did little to campaign for his spot on the ticket: “The movement for his nomination was becoming irresistible even without any word from Grant.”1 No doubt the poet would have found such humility admirable in a national figure like Grant, and, when speaking of the general, he would later express his admiration for Grant’s “plain” nature, a key factor in his growing appreciation for the man as the years went by. In fact, Whitman’s published writing, private correspondence, and conversations late in life all demonstrate how the poet’s views on Grant shifted over time, culminating in both admiration for and a surprising amount of identification with the general turned president. While the poet’s affection and reverence for Lincoln are well known, far less has been said about his feelings for and writings about Grant.2 Specific study of Whitman’s statements about the general and president offers further insight into the poet’s engagement with politics and his own professional position in Washington during the early years of Reconstruction . It also provides an illustration of Whitman’s beliefs regarding the heroic nature of the average American. Even more tellingly, his...

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