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How could you be a great mind like Walt Whitman and not have people be drawn to you? I’m sure it’s possible in some cases but Whitman not only had close friends who adored him, he had followers who based their course of life off of his words. That’s influence for you. Two such people were Edward Carpenter and Robert Ingersoll. These men, like many others, were so greatly affected by Whitman and in different ways. One was a devout follower of Whitman, more of a disciple, if you will. The other was a close friend and was actually an object of Whitman’s own admiration. Both of them were lucky enough to have a creative mind like Whitman’s in their lives.

Edward Carpenter was born in Hove, England and attended Brighton College. Although he would go on to Cambridge, Carpenter didn’t have a feeling for academics at a young age. Instead he discovered his attachment to nature and this relationship is one that lasted him the rest of his life. While attending University, Carpenter discovered his attraction to men and didn’t feel outwardly comfortable about his feelings right away.

Following his college years, and some time experimenting with men, Carpenter decided to become a Curate in the Anglican Church. Before long, he became unhappy with his life there. He seemed to find the Victorian era, in its entirety, a hypocrisy. His only way out of this fraudulent life he was living was through poetry. Carpenter received his first copy of Leaves of Grass in1868 and the rest is history.

Something in Whitman’s poetry moved him so much that Carpenter decided that he needed to educate the working class of the world. He picked up is life with the church and moved on to become a lecturer of astronomy and outspoken Socialist. After his father died and left him a considerable amount of money, he sought out a home in Milthrope and adapted a more natural lifestyle. This included, among other things, harvesting his own crops and vegetarianism. It was here in his life that he came to terms with his sexual orientation. Because of his new lifestyle away from the Victorian era, his creativity blossomed. One of his great works “Towards Democracy” was written during this time and was greatly influenced, as was the rest of his works, by Whitman.

Carpenter got the chance to visit Whitman in 1877 as well as in 1886 and chronicled these visits in his work, Days with Whitman. Carpenter wouldn’t have become who he was without Whitman giving him the strength to be radical and live how he wants to live. Whitman’s work was the driving factor in Carpenters decision to educate the lower class and that made all the difference in his life.

Whitman’s friend, Robert Ingersoll, was born in 1883 in Dresden, NY. He was the product of an intelligent, abolitionist family. He began studying law and during his time as a law clerk he opened his own practice with his brother, which they named “E.C. & R. G. Ingersoll”. When the Civil War broke out he took command of the 11^th Illinois Cavalry Regiment. He was captured during this time and subsequently released on the grounds of giving his word to never fight again, which was common practice at the time. Following the war, Ingersoll became Attorney General of Illinois. His views were very radical for the time period and he was very outspoken. This did not help his political career, but helped his life as an orator greatly. He was incredibly affluent and his lectures ranged in many different genres, however he was very passionate about the ideas humanitarianism and free thought. Needless to say, his ideas appealed to Whitman. He considered Ingersoll to be the greatest orator of all time. Ingersoll was so admired by him that he was chosen to give the eulogy at his funeral, which must have been an incredible honor.

All three of these men shared a common bond; they all seem to be ahead of their time. Each one was filled with ideas that seemed radical for the late nineteenth century. Regardless of the time, they still put themselves out there in a way no one had done before. They paved the way for leaders to come. It’s obvious that great minds connect to one another, and these friendships and admirations illustrate that fact.

Eugene V. Debs, a prominent socialist, union leader, and once presidential candidate for the American Socialist party (receiving his nomination in jail), acknowledged Whitman as an influence upon his political ideology. To illuminate Debs’ connection to Whitman, it is best to start with their mutual friend, Horace Traubel, who “is best known as the author of a nine-volume biography of Whitman’s final four years” (Folsom). He transcribed many conversations he had with Whitman, which often focused on politics and, specifically, socialism.

Traubel was born in Camden in 1858 to a father who was a printer by trade and a fan of Leaves of Grass. Traubel shared his father’s appreciation for Whitman’s poetry, and when the poet moved to Camden in 1873, the young man befriended him, and they developed a close friendship over the next twenty years. Throughout their friendship, Traubel “often tried to convince his mentor that America’s democratic promise could only be realized through socialism” (Garman 90). Whitman warned Traubel, however, that his socialism was too radical; the two never agreed politically, and although Whitman’s socialism “was a pliable as the poet himself,” Traubel contributed to perpetuating a much more radical posthumous socialist legacy for Whitman than the poet had supported in his lifetime. (Folsom). In 1890, Traubel founded a monthly called The Conservator, which was devoted to reporting Progressive reform organizations, and to keeping Whitman’s works alive. “In virtually every issue there would be essays on Whitman, reviews of books about Whitman, digests of comments relating to Whitman, advertisements for books by and about Whitman. Often, Whitman would be presented as a kind of proto-Ethical Culture thinker” (Folsom). Traubel often attempted to “connect his idol (Whitman) to Eugene V Debs’ Socialist party” in the publication (Garman 92). Accordingly, Debs often wrote for The Conservator, acknowledging Whitman as one of his primary influences (Bussell).

Born and raised in the Midwest, “his fight against capitalism was inspired as much by Tom Paine, Walt Whitman and Wendell Phillips as it was by Karl Marx” (Platt). Debs was imprisoned for his activism several times throughout his life, arrested for his involvement in the Pullman Strike, and later convicted of espionage and sentenced to 10 years in prison for speaking out against World War I (Robertson). He was later pardoned by President Harding, and died in a sanitarium.

Debs’ letters were later collected and published; his own words about Whitman’s influence upon his politics speak for themselves:

2-13-1908 EVD, Terre Haute, to Stephen [Reynolds]. I have been East. Agree with your letter about organizing; have an article about that in a recent Appeal. We have to do more than talk Socialism– must get our machine in shape for political action. Will get a list of Indiana workers for you from Comrade Wayland. Will try to carry out your suggestion that Appeal discuss organization weekly. Being in West Virginia reminded me of John Brown. You are doing an immortal service which Old Walt [Whitman] would applaud. TLS 2p E (http://www.indianahistory.org/)

Works Cited

Bussel, Alan. “In Defense of Freedom: Horace L. Traubel and the Conservator.”

1974. http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED096678&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=ED096678

“Eugene V Debs Papers, 1881-1940.” Indianahistory.org. 2004.

http://www.indianahistory.org/library/manuscripts/collection_guides/SC0493.html#CATALOGING

Folsom, Ed. “With Whitman in Camden.” University of Iowa. 1996.

http://www.wlbentley.com/wwic/WWICfore.html

Platt, Pam. “Eugene V. Debs: The Hoosier Socialist. Courier Journal. November

2009. http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20091129/COLUMNISTS10/911290315/Pam-Platt-%7C-Eugene-V.-Debs–The-Hoosier-Socialist

Robertson, Michael. “The Gospel According to Horace: Horace Traubel And The

Walt Whitman Fellowship.” Mickel Street Review v 16. http://micklestreet.rutgers.edu/archives/Issue%2016/documents.htm

Socialism: Whitman and Emma Goldman

Whitman’s influence has been surprisingly far-reaching. He was the model for Bram Stoker’s Dracula¹, his lifestyle was adopted by the Beat movement including Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac², and many in the literary world consider him to be “America’s Poet” in the words of Ezra Pound³. However, his influence went beyond the world of literature and into the world of politics. Whitman’s egalitarian philosophy with respect to religion, sexuality, gender and race touched many a political activist, where equality for all is a commonality.

One such activist is the self-proclaimed atheist and anarchist Emma Goldman. Described during her life as “the most dangerous woman in America” by many⁴, she first came into contact with Whitman’s work while serving a year-long prison sentence for inciting a riot during a demonstration against unemployment in 1893⁵. Among other American activist-writers such as Emerson and Thoreau, she read Whitman’s Leaves of Grass⁶. Other than this, however, she had absolutely no contact with Whitman. While they were contemporaries, Goldman was only in the United States for the last ten years of Whitman’s life.

She may have related to Whitman because of her similar views on certain issues. She shared the nearly unheard of view—even among anarchists—that homosexuals deserve the same rights as heterosexuals⁷, writing in numerous letters and speeches in the defense of gay rights. And, while Whitman was influenced by deism, he was skeptical of religious institutions and held no faith to be greater than any other; an atheist by declaration, I believe Goldman felt connected to Whitman’s sentiment regarding religion even as she vehemently denied the existence of G-d⁸.

But, that is essentially where the similarities end. While Whitman believed in a close relationship between poetry and society⁹, Goldman held a hypocritical view of activism in which violence that served her purposes was acceptable¹⁰ while even non-violent actions undertaken by those opposed to her were tyrannical and oppressive¹¹. She helped conspire with her lover to murder the industrialist Henry Clay Frick, begging him to allow her to participate¹²; she also expressed approval of the ideals behind the assassination of President McKinley¹³. She organized strikes and demonstrations, often attempting to incite the participants to violence or disruptiveness¹⁴.

However, despite her wildly hypocritical views on appropriate tactics, she—like Whitman—had fairly far-reaching influence. Her work in women’s rights led to the creation of anarcha-feminism, which regards patriarchy as an establishment to be resisted. Goldman is often cited as the movement’s founder¹⁵. In the same light, her incessant championing of her ideals in the face of multiple arrests influenced the founder of the ACLU, Roger Baldwin¹⁶.

And so, while she did not have direct contact with Whitman, she may have felt that he was in league with her given his views on certain issues. Whitman has a way of conjuring his presence through the page, which Goldman may have sensed and used to bolster her belief that he would have supported her actions. Indeed, she included his poems in her self-published magazine, Mother Earth, and eventually wrote an essay on him in which she linked the deep meaning of his words to his homosexuality¹⁷. However, despite similar views on a limited number of topics, Whitman and Goldman could not be much more different in personality, tactics, and political views.

Whitman and Friends

Two men close to Walt Whitman were Dr. Maurice Bucke and Horace Traubel.  Both of the men worshiped Whitman and spent their lives dedicated to honoring his work.  They are also considered, Whitman’s disciples[1] for their enthusiastic willingness to spread the works of Whitman and educate others through his literature.  In addition, they were also both Whitman’s literary executors, along with his attorney Thomas Harned.

Maurice Bucke

Dr. Maurice Bucke was born in 1837 in Norfolk, England but grew up in Canada after having moved there when he was one year old.  When he was sixteen years old he left home and went through near fatal journey that included walking through many mountains in harsh weather.  The result was almost fatal and left him without a foot and several lost toes.  He was extremely lucky to have survived.

Not long after Bucke recovered from his injuries, he began attending medical school at McGill University.  This opportunity came to him through an inheritance and he was fortunate enough to also study in both London and Paris.  Upon graduation he worked as a ship surgeon but later settled in the field of psychiatry.  He began his practice in Sarnia, Ontario.  Soon after he married Jessie Gurd and together they had eight children.

In addition to his work with psychiatry, Bucke was very interested in literature.  He was fascinated with Whitman and it is said that he committed much of Whitman’s work to memory.  While in Philadelphia on a business trip, Bucke crossed the river into Camden and looked up Whitman.  (Could you even imagine doing such a thing today!!)   After their initial meeting they became good friends and often traveled together.  In the summer of 1880, Whitman even stayed with Bucke at his home in Canada.  Bucke worshiped Whitman and Whitman considered Bucke a dependable and loyal friend.

In 1883 they collaborated together on a biography of Whitman.  He devoted much of his time and energy to writing, editing and overseeing the publication of Whitman materials.

Bucke also served as Whitman’s medical consultant through the end of Whitman’s life.  There is a mass of letters between the two in which Whitman asks for medical advice from Bucke and he treated him directly in the very end of his life.  He also helped Whitman to re-write his will and on the day of his death, Bucke was there with him.

After Whitman’s death, Bucke remained committed to their friendship and continued to work on editing several posthumous volumes of Whitman’s writings.  He was also one of the editors of Whitman’s Complete Writings. In 1992 a Canadian feature film, Beautiful Dreamers was filmed; it was based on the relationship between Whitman and Bucke, specifically focusing on the 1880 summer visit in Canada.

Maurice lived for ten more years after Whitman died.   He slipped on a patch of ice and died from head trauma at 65 in London, Ontario.

Horace Traubel

Horace Traubel was born in 1858 in Camden, New Jersey.  At the age of twelve he quit school and began working at his father’s stationary school.  This prepared him well for a job in print and at sixteen he moved to Philadelphia and became a correspondent for the Boston Commonwealth.  It has been said that Traubel is the “epitome of the Progressive Era” (SOURCE).  He believed deeply throughout his entire life in the teleological movement of humankind towards its betterment.  His personality was such that he was interested in everything for the sake of the things themselves and “he would routinely spend two to three hours per day writing letters to his friends as well as finding and sending them appropriate clippings from other newspapers”  (SOURCE).

Traubel’s friendship with Whitman began early in Traubel’s life, while he was still living in Camden as a young boy.  They first met when Whitman moved to Camden to live with his brother after his stroke.  Because Traubel was only around thirteen years old[2] when they met, neighbors were concerned and their friendship was considered a scandal.  Regardless they stayed close even after Traubel moved and in the last years of Whitman’s life Traubel authored the multi-volume biography, Walt Whitman in Camden.  Traubel felt as though he was the “spirit child” of Whitman.  He later founded, edited and published of The Conservator, a journal dedicated to Whitman.

At the time of Whitman’s death, Traubel had known Whitman for almost twenty years.  He dedicated the rest of his own life to keeping Whitman’s work alive and published many Whitman inspired poems.  He also published large volumes of his conversations with Whitman that he had written down over the years.  A month before he died, Traubel took a final trip to Canada to see a park be dedicated to the honor of Whitman.  During the dedication, speaker Helen Keller called for a standing ovation for Traubel in recognition for his tireless efforts to pass along the works of Whitman and for his continuous work in the field of humanity.

Traubel died on May 13, 1919, one year after suffering a serious stroke.  He was buried not far from Whitman in the Harleigh cemetery.

Henning, Matthew.  Walt Whitman Biography.  http://pabook.libraries.psu.edu/palitmap/bios/Traubel__Horace.html

Nelson, Howard. The Walt Whitman Archive. Disciples: Biography, Richard Maurice Bucke. http://www.whitmanarchive.org/criticism/disciples/tei/anc.00247.html

Nelson, Howard. The Walt Whitman Archive. Disciples: Biography, Horace Traubel   http://www.whitmanarchive.org/criticism/disciples/tei/anc.00249.html

[2] Conflicting accounts of Traubel’s age when having met Whitman; three different sources listed the age as twelve, thirteen and fourteen respectively.

On Walter & Louisa Whitman, and their first 5 children:

Whitman Family Dates

Father: Walter Whitman, Sr. (b. 1789, m. 1816, d. 1855); &

Mother: Louisa Van Velsor Whitman (b. 1795, m. 1816, d. 1873)

Brother: Jesse Whitman (b. 1818, d. 1870)

Walt Whitman (b. 31 May 1819, d. 26 March 1892)

Sister: Mary Elizabeth Whitman (b. 1821, d. 1899)

Sister: Hannah Louise Whitman (b. 1823, d. 1908)

Brother: Andrew Jackson Whitman (b. 1827, d. 1863)

Brother: George Washington Whitman (b. 1829, d. 1901)

Brother: Thomas Jefferson Whitman (b. 1833, d. 1890)

Brother: Edward Whitman (b. 1835, d. 1892/1902 [some sources differ])

The second son [and second child overall] of Walter and Louisa Whitman [nee Van Velsor], Whitman had 5 brothers and 2 sisters.

Walt’s father, the carpenter Walter Whitman, died in 1855, and thus did not live to see any of Walt’s aesthetic work. Walt, however, did not believe his father would have appreciated Walt’s work any more than did the rest of Walt’s family [which was allegedly very little]. Walt believes his father would have still accepted and loved him, but not understood him, much as with the rest of his family (Schmidgall 34).

Walt loved his mother, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, and spoke much more of her than of his father. Walt describes himself and his mother as “great chums” and speaks highly of her belief in his ability (Schmidgall 33), though she never appreciated nor understood Leaves of Grass.

Walt identifies his family background as Quaker, though he describes his father more as a “friend” or “follower” of a Quaker figure and his mother Louisa as having Quaker “leanings,” “sympathies,” and “tendencies,” rather than as practicing Quakers (Schmidgall 34).

Little is known about Jesse Whitman aside from his being a sailor and his death. Even Horace Traubel, famously close to Walt, knew little of Jesse other than that he died of an aneurism on March 21, 1870 while a patient at the Kings County Lunatic Asylum in Flatbush, Long Island [an event about which Walt was informed by a letter sent the next day]. Traubel alleges that Walt never spoke of Jesse even when showing the letter to Traubel (Schmidgall 37).

Carrying on the Dutch heritage of her mother, Mary Whitman married a mechanic by the name of Van Nostrand in 1840 and lived in Greenport, Long Island. Walt visited her frequently but, according to Traubel, hardly spoke of her in conversation. In the conversation with Traubel in which Walt does speak of Mary, he refers to her frailty resulting from rheumatism, though she had been full of energy as a child (Schmidgall 34-35).

Hannah Whitman [also Hanna], often referred to in family letters as “Han” or “Hann,” seems to be often thought of but seldom visited or visiting. Hannah lived in Burlington, Vermont with her husband, Mr. Heyde. This marriage did not seem to be a happy one, as Hannah often would express frustration “that Heyde could be so amiable with others and hateful to her” (Pollak 226). Heyde appears an unfortunate real life Mr. Hyde.

Andrew Jackson Whitman is the least-mentioned of Walt’s three brothers named after presidents. His wife, however, was quite nefarious: She is referred to as a “foul slut” who became a prostitute after he died (Gohdes viii).

In general, Walt was not particularly close with his family. He says, “A man’s family is the people who love him—the people who comprehend him,” and explains that his family never understood him or his work. With regard to his blood family, he sees himself as “isolated” or as “a stranger in their midst”; instead, he sees those close to him [Traubel, the O’Connors and others] as his true family (Schmidgall 33).

Bibliography

Gohdes, Clarence and Rollo G. Silver, eds. Faint clews & indirections; manuscripts of Walt Whitman and his family. Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 1949.

Pollak, Vivian R. The Erotic Whitman. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000.

Schmidgall, Gary, ed. Intimate with Walt : selections from Whitman’s conversations with Horace Traubel, 1888-1892. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 2001.