Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Published Writings
  3. Periodicals
  4. Journalism
  5. per.01281

Young Men’s Unions

About This Item

  • Title: Young Men’s Unions
  • Date: 14 May 1858
  • Creator(s): Walt Whitman
  • Whitman Archive ID: per.01281
  • Source: Brooklyn Daily Times, 14 May 1858: 2. Our transcription is based on a digital image of a microfilm scan of the original issue. Microfilm of original issue held at Pennsylvania State University Libraries. For a description of the editorial rationale behind our treatment of the journalism, see our statement of editorial policy.
  • Editorial note: This piece is unsigned, as was the case for most of Whitman's journalism. However, this editorial is part of a series of texts that deal with a coherent theme that has been identified by the Whitman Archive journalism team as likely authored by Whitman. This decision is based on a combination of historical and (auto)biographical accounts, similarity to contemporary Whitman writings, a history of scholarly attribution, extant clippings retained by Whitman, computational stylometric analysis, and, in some cases, manuscript evidence in Whitman’s hand.
  • Contributors to digital file: Kaylen Michaelis Brandi Faulkner Stefan Schöberlein Karie Cobb
  • Cite this page: Whitman, Walt. "Young Men’s Unions." The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price. Accessed 16 July 2024. <http://www.whitmanarchive.org>.
  • Source File: per.01281.xml (TEI)
image 1image 2image 3image 4image 5image 6image 7image 8image 9image 10image 11image 12cropped image 1

YOUNG MEN'S UNIONS.

The anniversary of the Young Men’s Christian Association1 in New York, reminds us of the great importance of this and kindred organizations, and the influence which they must exert in the community. In New York and other large cities these associations are carried on with the most complete success. They increase in prosperity and multiply in numbers, and are really doing a good and noble work. In the Western District of this city they have an organization of the kind which is doing well, and we believe answers its purpose in bringing together the young men to a closer sympathy, and by an exchange of views to cultivate and improve their moral relations. In our own District we had an Association of the kind, but, as some of our readers may remember, it gave up the ghost at the time that the Sunday Car question was being agitated.

Young Men’s Unions such as these are doing a valuable work, which will be all the better the more they are kept clear of Sectarianism, and narrowmindedness of any sort. They should stand on a broad basis and exclude jealously any attempt to bring in issues and topics extraneous to the prime objects for which they were formed; to guard their unity as above all things precious, because in union there is strength.

The more the spirit of association spreads among our young men, and is guided into proper channels, the better results may be expected. We hope to see them spread whether they be religious or literary or hygienic or social. Let us make another attempt here.

Notes:

1. The Young Men's Christian Association, commonly known today as the YMCA, was founded by George Williams in 1844. [back]

Back to top