For You O Democracy

“For You O Democracy” is one of Walt Whitman’s best known poems. In the poem, the speaker shares his thoughts about democracy and what democracy means to them as well as what it should create. The speaker advocates that democracy should form the ideal government. The poem also elevates nature, and the speaker advocates that nature should provide the overall unification of people of different races and backgrounds. The poem is one of many of Whitman’s poems that elevated democracy. The themes in “For You O Democracy” echo those in “Song of Myself,” which celebrates nature, individualism, and democracy. Whitman wrote “For You O Democracy” between 1859 and 1860. Originally, “For You O Democracy” was printed in the 1860 edition of Leaves of Grass. It appeared as the last three stanzas of Section 5 in “Calamus.”

Poet Biography

An American poet, essayist, and journalist, Walter (Walt) Whitman was a humanist who is often considered a partial bridge between American Transcendentalism and Realism. Whitman incorporated both Transcendentalism and Realism into his works.

Whitman was born in Huntington on Long Island. Throughout his childhood and much of his adulthood, he spent most of his time in Brooklyn. Whitman left formal schooling at a young age in order to work. His careers included working as a journalist, a teacher, and a government clerk. In 1855, using his own money, Whitman published Leaves of Grass. Leaves of Grass was controversial for its time and described as obscene and overtly sensual, and it caused Whitman’s life to come under scrutiny because of suspicions of him being gay. Leaves of Grass was Whitman’s attempt to reach the common American person, and it is considered an American epic.

During the Civil War, Whitman wrote the poem “Beat! Beat! Drums!” The poem is considered a rally cry for the North. Whitman’s brother George served in the Union Army during the war. During a visit south to find George, Whitman’s experience of seeing soldiers with amputated limbs deeply impacted him. At this point, he left New York to work in Washington, DC. In 1864, Whitman’s brother George was captured by Confederate troops, and Whitman received a better government job. However, in 1865, Whitman was fired from his post.

In 1873, Whitman had a stroke. The stroke forced him to move from Washington, DC to his brother’s home in Camden, New Jersey. While at his brother’s, Whitman experienced mental health conditions, including depression, after the death of his mother, who had also been staying at the brother’s house in Camden. In 1884, Whitman purchased his own home, where he produced and published three different versions of Leaves of Grass.

Throughout his life, Whitman was a vocal proponent of temperance—the movement to curb alcohol consumption. He argued in favor of prohibition. Deism, which rejects revelation as a source of divine knowledge, heavily influenced Whitman and his beliefs. To Whitman, God was transcendent and immanent. Throughout his life, Whitman had many intense friendships with boys and men, and biographers often describe him as gay or bisexual. Biographers suspect a man named Peter Doyle as the object of Whitman’s romantic love. The two were intensely close for years. Other biographers assert that Bill Duckett, who moved in with Whitman at the age of 15 and worked in various roles for Whitman, was also romantically involved with Whitman. Whitman had another intense relationship with Harry Stafford, to whom Whitman gave a ring which passed back and forth between the two during their many years of a stormy relationship. Some evidence exists that Whitman also had romantic relationships with women, including the actress Ellen Grey. Whitman once claimed he had children, but no evidence exists to support his claim.

At the age of 72, on March 26, 1892, Whitman passed away after a week of weakness that left him unable to lift his utensils. Whitman passed due to bronchial pneumonia as well as an abscess that had eroded into his ribs. At a public viewing, over 1000 people visited. His body was interned at Harleigh Cemetery in Camden, but later his remains, along with those of his parents and two of his brothers, were moved to a mausoleum.

Poem Text

Come, I will make the continent indissoluble,

I will make the most splendid race the sun ever shone upon,

I will make divine magnetic lands,

                  With the love of comrades,

                     With the life-long love of comrades.

I will plant companionship thick as trees along all the rivers of America, and along the shores of the great lakes, and all over the prairies,

I will make inseparable cities with their arms about each other’s necks,

                  By the love of comrades,

                     By the manly love of comrades.

For you these from me, O Democracy, to serve you ma femme!

For you, for you I am trilling these songs.

Whitman, Walt. “For You O Democracy.” 1860. Poetry Foundation.

Summary

In the first stanza, the speaker immediately establishes their identity and control by using the first-person pronoun “I.” The speaker presents a directive: “Come, I will make the continent indissoluble” (Line 1). The speaker implies that their presence will unite the “continent” (Line 1), which is presumably America. The speaker declares that they will “make the most splendid race the sun ever shone upon” (Line 2), implying that they will form the strongest people. At this point, the speaker establishes that through unity and love, the nation can become even stronger and even more unified. The speaker promises “divine magnetic lands” (Line 3) and “the love of comrades” (Line 4). They reinforce the idea of unification by repeating that the “life-long love of comrades” (Line 5) is democracy’s ultimate foundation.

The second stanza presents “companionship” (Line 6) as something to be planted “thick as trees along all the rivers of America” (Line 6). The speaker evokes familiar landscapes, such as the “shores of the great lakes” (Lines 6-7) and “the prairies” (Line 7), to communicate companionship’s ability to unite those from all backgrounds and walks of life. The speaker transitions from rural and natural settings to the urban and declares they will make cities “inseparable” (Line 8). As the stanza concludes, the idea becomes a way of life, not merely a political system, as the speaker again focuses on “the love of comrades” (Lines 8, 9).

In the third and final stanza, the speaker directly addresses Democracy as an entity to be served. The speaker also uses the term “ma femme” (Line 11) as an address to Democracy. “Ma femme” (Line 11) is French for “my wife.” This intimate address communicates that the speaker views democracy as a deeply-rooted, meaningful relationship that requires nurturing and care. The poem concludes with the line “For you, for you I am trilling these songs” (Line 12). The speaker’s actions communicate a sense of devotion, as though Democracy is the only entity for which the speaker lives.