Through his work in poetry, literature, and other media, Walt Whitman is often considered one of America's most significant writers and theorists. He arguably popularized all-American literature with his work, injecting American writing into an era when only refined, traditionalist European literature was taught in college. As is evident from his epic poem from Leaves of Grass, “Song of Myself,” in which it is not the voice of one man who speaks but that of common people as a whole, Whitman believed in the identity of all men, in natural right of diversity, in the power and strength of the democratic process and in deism. Additionally, Whitman's writing style successfully created a unique American character that represented people of all castes, religions, and backgrounds. Because of his captivating social expositions on the dream of “freedom” in American society and his ability through his literature to give a “voice” to the common American people, Walt Whitman is considered the center of the American literary canon and the poet of democracy . We say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Many might say that Walt Whitman was ideologically “ahead” of his time; a progressive in an era that preceded the progressive movement of the early 20th century. Unlike the influential oligarchs of the Gilded Age, who bought and sold the public and politicians at will with their enormous amounts of industrial wealth, Whitman was an advocate of the power of the common man and his influence in the democratic process; he actually gave a new meaning to the common man, through his literary works, enabling them to recognize their own significance in the society. He preached confidence and individuality to his readers, “[Inculcating] the lesson of ennobling self-esteem. He [taught] the Negro that "there is no fat sweeter than that which clings to his own bones." He [urged] him not to accept anything that “insults his very soul.” This type of self-esteem would ultimately lead to the giving of new literary modes, typically black in origin” (56, Whitman and the Black Poet). Whitman attempted to show African Americans, who at the time lived in the chains of racism and slavery, that their situation mattered and that although their bodies were in chains, their souls were free. Furthermore, he elevated American literature above ignorance. of the prevailing African-American aesthetic. In modern American literature, blacks were depicted as helpless, highly stereotyped, brutal, or as victims of their own fate and suffering. Whitman, however, celebrated his work on a more free and open level, ignoring this common “black aesthetic” in American literature and choosing instead to portray black people in his work as simply equal to everyone else, be they the blue-collar worker, the businessman, or the curious woman. For example, in “Song of Myself,” the speaker hosts and cares for a devoted fugitive slave during a trip to Northwood, sitting together at the table as equals while “[his] fire lay in the corner, ” (Whitman, section 10), as he would when a friendly guest was visiting. This denial of racial exclusion in his work, for which Whitman was famous and which further contrasted with the blatant ignorance and racism in nineteenth-century America, is what elevated Whitman to the center of the American literary scene. He challenged the literary norms of his time, subsequently inspiring blacks with his voice to find their own, helping to create the vital genre of black American literature, which..