The Dust Was Once the Man

Walt Whitman's "This Dust Was Once the Man" is about the great sixteenth President Abraham Lincoln (Whitman). Abraham Lincoln was the president during the Civil War. The Civil War. The Civil War was a war between the Northern Union and the Southern Confederates. The South seceded from the United States because they wanted slavery and they did not like Abe Lincoln because he was a Republican and the South were Democrats (Abraham). When he took office, the South instantly seceded (Abraham). Lincoln was a great fighter during the Civil War. "As a commander in chief Lincoln was soon noted for vigorous measures, sometimes at odds with the Constitution and often at odds with the ideas of his military commanders (Lincoln). This shows that he fought hard for what he believed in and went through anything he could to see it done. I believe Lincoln was a tough guy. He had a lot of hardships during his life that would have led other people to given up, but he stuck with it. His children died before him and so did other people he loved (Abraham). That would have bee hard to deal with being a father, but he was tough and got through it. He was always in with military planning. He was always part of the action to end the war (Abraham). After the Civil War, Lincoln was shot at the Fox Theater by John Wilkes Booth (Abraham). When he was shot, the war was at an end. The Union and the Confederates were starting reconstruction (Abraham).
"THIS dust was once the man,
Gentle, plain, just and resolute, under whose cautious hand,
Against the foulest crime in history known in any land or age,
Was saved the Union of these States." (Whitman)
In the poem, The Dust Was Once the Man was talking about the passing and the after effects of Abraham Lincoln being gone and dead (Whitman). The Dust is the ashes of Lincoln body. They also represent the all that is physically left of Abraham Lincoln on the earth. It is also saying that Lincoln was a great man and a great president. The line, "Gentle, plain, just and resolute" shows that Lincoln was a calm man (Whitman). He dealt with many matters that other would have gone crazy over and he was calm about it. He had plans for every thing and it was all thought out. He was also very just because he was very truthful. He was known as Honest Abe because he walked over five miles to return money to a woman who paid to much (Abraham). "Under whose cautious hand,against the foulest crime in history known in any land or age," (Whitman). The foulest crime is fighting against family. The United States is a big family and the Civil War was horrible because we were fighting against each other. "Was saved the Union of these States." (Whitman). In this line, Whitman is stating that Lincoln was a great guy and he brought the nation back together from it horrible state that it was in. Lincoln was a great man and president. Whitman really respected what he did and stood for by showing it in his poems.

"Abraham Lincoln." Civil War. Nps.gov. Web. 28 Feb. 2011. .

Whitman, Walt. "THIS DUST WAS ONCE THE MAN. (Leaves of Grass [1891-1892])." The Walt Whitman Archive. 2011. Web. 28 Feb. 2011. .