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Biography.com Editors. "Walt Whitman Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 08 Nov. 2016.http://www.biography.com/people/walt-whitman-9530126#synopsis
By. "The Walt Whitman Archive." William G., Lulloff, "Franklin Evans; or The Inebriate" -. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Nov. 2016.
http://www.whitmanarchive.org/criticism/current/encyclopedia/entry_81.html

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Walt Whitman personally experienced the horrors of the Civil War. He had volunteered in hospitals that catered to Union soldiers and he wrote "Drum-Taps" which reflect his experience.

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In "Leaves of Grass", Whitman discusses the importance of nature to the human soul. The image portrays the vastness of nature and how much information it provides for us.

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"Keep your face always toward the sunshine - and shadows will fall behind you".
- Walt Whitman
Walt Whitman is employing sunshine in the quote to represent nature and the guidance and happiness that nature brings to individuals.

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“Resist much, obey little.”
- Walt Whitman
The quote relates to the idea of individualism because Whitman encouraged people to be themselves and he did not want people to do what society expects of them.

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"Be curious, not judgmental".
- Walt Whitman
Transcendentalists promoted non-conformity, and the quote exemplifies this because he did not want people to be judgmental.

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Franklin Evans - The novel was the only novel written by Walt Whitman. It is about the story of Franklin Evan who was born poor but became rich in his lifetime, the novel takes you through his journey and the lessons that he learned along the way.

Drum-Taps - This collection of poems was written during the period of the Civil War in the United States. Whitman experienced negative physiological effects during the war and did not like how the politics of the country led to the disorder of the people and the government.

Leaves of Grass - The book consisted of poems that discussed nature's role in life, there were many editions published with more poems added to the collection each time. This was perhaps his most controversial work. "Leaves of Grass" included emphasized the importance of individuality, democracy, and nature.

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Walt Whitman was born on May 31, 1819 in New York State. His family pulled him out of school in order to participate in the printing business, it was there where he fell in love with books and poems. During his lifetime, he was very controversial, the book "Leaves of Grass" was disliked for its crude nature. One person that did appreciate the book was fellow transcendentalist, Ralph Waldo Emerson, he even sent a letter to Whitman about how much he loved the book. Whitman wrote poems that discussed the Civil War, he was one of the few writers to write about the war and had actually lived through it. Walt Whitman loved being an American and he appreciated the democracy of the country, this was largely due to his family who idolized American heros such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. He had intense and radical views on immigration and women's right which was why he was let go from his job as a newspaper writer. Whitman died at the age of 72 on March 26, 1892.

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Walt Whitman spent the majority of his life writing, he wrote poems until the years leading up to his death. He is one of the most appreciated poets in the history of the United States with his poems inspiring a lot of other poets.