Physical Description: number of leaves unknown, handwritten
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Content:
This one-sentence manuscript, expressing the opinion that "all the military and naval personnel of the States must conform to the sternest principles of Dem[ocracy]," is known only from a transcription published by Richard Maurice Bucke in
Notes and Fragments
(London, Ontario: A. Talbot & Co., printers, 1899), 55. The sentiment and phrasing of the manuscript are similar to statements Whitman made in "Democracy," an essay first published in the December 1867 issue of
The Galaxy.
When in 1871, Whitman combined this and two other essays to form the pamphlet-length essay
Democratic Vistas,
he elaborated the point with a note declaring "the whole present system of officering [. . .] a monstrous exotic." It is also possible that the present manuscript represents a draft fragment that contributed the "Preface" to the first edition of
Leaves of Grass
(1855), which contains a passing reference to the belief that no "detail of the army or navy [. . .] can long elude the [. . .] instinct of American standards."
Content:
Whitman's heading indicates that these brief notes were intended for a lecture on "Literature" or "Democracy." The notes contain only two short lines, both about "literary men." Based on the handwriting, Edward Grier dates this manuscript to the 1850s (
Notebooks and Unpublished Prose Manuscripts
[New York: New York University Press, 1984], 4:1591). This date can be supported by Whitman's interest in oratory and goal of becoming a lecturer in the 1850s, though he also maintained these interests in the 1860s. He explained in a letter to his mother of June 9, 1863: "I think something of commencing a series of lectures & readings &c. through different cities of the north, to supply myself with funds for my Hospital & Soldiers visits." Whitman's meditation on literature and its relation to "Democracy" in this manuscript may have contributed to his essay "Democracy," which appeared in the
Galaxy
in 1867 and was later incorporated into
Democratic Vistas
(1871).
Content:
Cancelled draft written in pencil on the verso of page 30 (Whitman's
numbering) of a sixty-five page rough draft of
Democratic Vistas
(see "[Rough MS of Democratic Vistas]").
"[To What You
Said]" bears a strong relationship to the "Calamus" poems that
were composed between 1857-1860.
Whitman Archive Title: [The best of the two Introductions]
Content:
One of a series of draft introductions Whitman prepared for
Leaves of Grass
, but which were never printed during Whitman's lifetime. Though this introduction was not printed as a complete and distinct piece until collected by Clifton Joseph Furness in
Walt Whitman's Workshop
(1928), portions of this draft were used in
Democratic Vistas
(1871). An image of the verso of the final leaf is unavailable.
Whitman Archive Title: [Dec 23, 1864 good—& must be used]
Content:
One of a series of draft introductions Whitman prepared for
Leaves of Grass
, but which were never printed during Whitman's lifetime. Though this introduction was not printed as a complete and distinct piece until collected by Clifton Joseph Furness in
Walt Whitman's Workshop
(1928), portions of this draft were used in
Democratic Vistas
(1871).
Content:
The seventh surface of this manuscript notebook contains a passage that
will appear, with revisions, in the article "Democracy"published in the
Galaxy
(December 1867). The passage will also
appear in
Democratic Vistas
(1871) and retained in
Democratic
Vistas and Other Papers
(1888) and in
Democratic Vistas
published within
Complete Prose Works
(1892).
Content:
On one side of these leaves is a fragmentary set of notes concerning Whitman's belief that the system whereby U.S. military officers are chosen should be reformed to reflect the nation's democratic spirit. This is an idea that Whitman introduced, although briefly, as early as the 1855 preface to
Leaves of Grass,
though the present manuscript is most likely related to one or more of Whitman's later, more extended expressions on this topic. The most likely possibility is that these notes represent draft material for the 21 October 1863 letter that Whitman sent to James Redpath, pitching a book idea for his newly established publishing house. On the reverse of the second leaf is a title page mock-up for the proposed book,
Memoranda of a Year
(1863). Unable to get a publisher for his book at that time, Whitman waited for over a decade to publish
Memoranda During the War
(1875–76), in which appears a short essay on the topic of military reform, "A New Army Organization Fit for America Needed." Subsequently shortened to a single paragraph when republished in
Specimen Days & Collect
(1882–83), it was given the slightly altered title "A New Army Organization Fit for America." The present manuscript may also represent draft material that eventuated in a note on the topic that Whitman added to
Democratic Vistas
(1871) when he created that book-length essay from several earlier pieces.
Content:
Draft of letter, heavily revised, to publisher James Redpath. Included with the letter, which pitches Whitman's idea for a book about his firsthand experiences among Civil War soldiers, are a title page mock-up, a draft publisher's announcement, the label that Whitman created for these items, and a blank envelope. The letter is written on the reverse of proofs of a circular for the United States Christian Commission, and the label, which dates the letter to October 21, 1863, is written on the clipped front of a United States Christian Commission envelope. Whitman was unable to get such a book published for over a decade.
Memoranda During the War
(1875–76) includes the short essay "A New Army Organization Fit for America Needed," which echoes specifically the ideas and language about military reform from the draft letter. This essay was later shortened to a single paragraph and republished in
Specimen Days & Collect
(1882–83), given the slightly altered title "A New Army Organization Fit for America." The same language from the letter draft might also have contributed to a note on the topic of military reform that Whitman added to
Democratic Vistas
(1871) when he created that book-length essay from several earlier pieces.
Content:
A brief paragraph suggesting that the unifying motif of a projected volume of miscellaneous prose pieces should be various aspects of nature viewed from the perspective of democracy. Although Whitman eventually titled his collection
Specimen Days
(1882–83), the present manuscript uses the working title "Mulleins & Bumble Bees," one of many that he considered over the rather long period during which he contemplated publication. In "Cedar-Plums—Names," one of the short essays in the collection, he discusses some of his difficulties with coherence and titling.
Content:
This short note provides phrases that contributed to the essay "Democracy," which was published in the
December 1867 issue of
The Galaxy.
When Whitman combined this and
two other essays to form the pamphlet-length essay
Democratic Vistas
(1871),
he ommitted the section containing the phrases in this manuscript.
Content:
This prose fragment, heavily revised, is almost certainly part of the
draft material that contributed to the essay eventually titled
Democratic Vistas,
published as a pamphlet
in 1871. This long essay was originally organized as a series of three
shorter pieces, The first two of which were published in
The Galaxy
, under the titles "Democracy" (December
1867) and "Personalism"
(May 1868).
Content:
Although this manuscript is titled as a potential introduction or preface to
Democratic Vistas
or
Memoranda during the War
it never appeared in that format in either work. However, the thoughts it contains were echoed in an article that appeared in the
St. Louis Dispatch
on October 17, 1879. The article contained an interview with Whitman, in which he voiced ideas similar to those in the manuscript. A portion of the
Dispatch
piece would later be reprinted as "An Interviewer's Item" in
Specimen Days
and
Complete Prose Works
.
Content:
A manuscript at the top of which Whitman has written "pref to Dem Vistas." However, the manuscript's connection to any published work is unknown.
Content:
These two leaves used to form part of the same sheet of paper, and form an outline for the three essays—only two of which were actually published as separate articles—that Whitman eventually combined to form the larger work entitled
Democratic Vistas
. As Whitman has written on the manuscript that the "Democracy" article was "already published," the date of its composition is likely between December 1867 (when "Democracy" appeared in
Galaxy
) and May 1868 (when
Personalism
was published). On the reverse of the leaves is a portion of un unpublished prose essay (loc.05620).
Whitman Archive Title: [Draw a picture of a model]
Content:
The description of "a model American young man" inscribed on this
manuscript likely contributed to Whitman's journalism of the late 1850s and represents an early stage of the "model or portrait
of Personality, for general use, for the manliness of The States" that
Whitman set forth in his essay "Personalism," which appeared in the May 1868 issue
of
The Galaxy.
He later combined the
material from this and other essays to form
Democratic Vistas,
published as a monograph in 1871 and reprinted in
Two
Rivulets
(1876),
Specimen Days &
Collect
(1882–1883),
Democratic Vistas, and Other Papers
(1888), and
Complete Prose Works
(1892).
Content:
The manuscript fragment on the recto of this leaf appears to have been
drafted for the unpublished essay "Orbic
Literature," which Whitman combined with two essays published
in
The Galaxy
("Democracy" [December
1867] and "Personalism [May 1868]") as
Democratic Vistas
in 1871. "Democratic Vistas" was reprinted in
Two Rivulets
(1876),
Specimen Days & Collect
(1882–1883),
Democratic Vistas,
and Other Papers
(1888), and
Complete
Prose Works
(1892). The writing on the verso, concerning
George Fox and Quakerism, is part of an apparently unrelated two-page
manuscript.
Whitman Archive Title: [Is it enough to keep on importing]
Content:
Prose manuscript fragment, written on a small scrap of paper, apparently
from the drafting sessions that produced
Democratic Vistas,
which was first published at the end of
1870 (though dated 1871). Because the scrap
is pasted to a backing sheet, no image of the verso is available.
Content:
Fragmentary draft of an introductory essay that was apparently never
published. The note at the top suggests that it was intended for some
version of
Democratic Vistas,
which was first published
in 1871, or of
Memoranda during the War,
which was first published in 1875–76. The idea
expressed in this manuscript occurs frequently in Whitman's published
writings, though never in these particular phrases.
Whitman Archive Title: [Rough MS of Democratic Vistas]
Content:
A rough, and heavily revised draft of
Democratic
Vistas
, first published in 1871 and
included in
Complete Prose Works
(1892). On the verso of page 30 is loc.00144, "[To What You Said]," a poetry draft described separately in this finding aid.
Whitman Archive Title: [Among the many]; [It is not this]
Content:
On one side of the leaves, Whitman explores the idea that life, with its
petty concerns, is "an exercise, a training & development" for an
afterlife. A note at the top possibly indicates that the poet considered
developing this thought in conjunction with "From Noon to Starry Night," a cluster that
first appeared in the 1881–82 edition of
Leaves of Grass
. Edward F. Grier suggests,
alternatively, that the writing is connected with
Specimen Days
(1882–83), "which is full of references to stars" (Walt
Whitman,
Notebooks and Unpublished Prose
Manuscripts,
Edward F. Grier, ed. [New York: New York
University Press, 1984], 6:2106). The writing on the reverse sides of
the leaves explores the ideal roles of authors and the general public in
shaping government and legislation. These notes are possibly related to
Democratic Vistas,
in which Whitman discusses the role of what he calls here the
literary class
in connection to democracy, as well as issues of voting and women's rights. The two leaves are housed and
described separately at the repository.
