"This Dust Was Once the Man"

"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."

What an interesting little poem about honest Abe Lincoln. It is apparent to me that Whitman held Mr. Lincoln in high esteem. I assume the that foulest crime he speaks of was slavery. I also think it's fascinating that Whitman begins his poem speaking of the ashes or the dust. He titles the poem much the same, but really the poem is about all of the human qualities of Mr. Lincoln. I think this was an interesting approach to writing a poem. The poem is short, sweet to the point. 

Whitman believes it was under the great leadership of Mr. Lincoln that the war was fought and won. In Callow, we read that Whitman would see President Lincoln, usually by himself, heading down the road somewhere. Is it true that a great leader keeps his own council? I mean, instead of confiding in others of his inner most thoughts, that he kept them to himself? That is what I think of when Whitman mentions seeing Mr. Lincoln alone. 

I wonder if Whitman ever met Abe? I can't remember reading about it, but I've read a lot this semester and this has escaped me.

President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in the Spring time. He did not get to lead the nation into its reconstruction phase. I wonder why Whitman doesn't write a poem about that....the nation was quite a mess at the end of the war--as you would expect of such long, drawn out fight. I wonder why Whitman didn't presume to know what might have happened if Lincoln had lived?

I think it's neat to know that Whitman lived in a time with Lincoln. It's hard for me to put people in history together, but this era of poems has helped me with a time-line.