Life and works of Walt Whitman

Death

Plagued by health problems, Whitman moved to Camden, New Jersey, in the mid-1870s. When he died on March 26, 1892, the news of his death was widely reported. The San Francisco Call, in an obituary published on the front page of the March 27, 1892, paper, wrote:
“Early in life he decided that his mission should be to 'preach the gospel of democracy and of the natural man,' and he schooled himself for the work by passing all his available time among men and women and in the open air, absorbing into himself nature, character, art and indeed all that makes up the eternal universe.”
Whitman was interred in a tomb of his own design in Harleigh Cemetery in Camden, New Jersey.

Legacy

Whitman’s poetry was revolutionary, both in subject and style. Though considered eccentric and controversial, he eventually became known as “America’s good gray poet.” When he died in 1892 at the age of 72, his death was front-page news across America. Whitman is now celebrated as one of the country's greatest poets, and selections from "Leaves of Grass" are widely taught in schools and universities.
2.3 Walt Whitman’s writings
Whitman substantiated to be an unpredictable journalist, his opinions and pen both were sharp and aligned neither with his bosses nor with his readers. He supported the property rights of women, labor issues, and immigration in his writings. He also criticized the obsession among the people of New York. The tenure of his job would be very short because of his volatile nature, and he also had a tainted reputation with various newspapers.
In 1848, Whitman moved to New Orleans and became an editor of the Crescent. Thought the stay was short, almost three months, he saw the wickedness of slavery for the first time. When he returned to Whitman, he started a new newspaper called Brooklyn Freeman. Regardless of initial challenges, it became a daily newspaper. In the succeeding year, the nation started questioning slavery, and Whitman’s own aggressiveness also elevated. Whitman also worried about the future of his country because of imposed slavery. During this time, he wrote a long book, also viewed as trailblazing poetic work about his own observation on the matter.
In 1855, Whitman self-published a collection of twelve poems Leaves of Grass. In the succeeding year, Whitman published an edition of Leaves of Grass that contained 32 poems, including “Sun-Down Poem.”
His father died in 1885, and Whitman became a man of the farmhouse. Writers like Bronson Alcott and Henry David Thoreau, fascinated by his poems, came to meet him in Brooklyn. The dysfunction of his family inspired a need to escape home life. His brothers were alcoholics. His sister was emotionally unstable.
In 1860, Boston publishers published the third edition of Leaves of Grass. This revised version held some promise; however, the Civil War broke up and drove the publishing companies out of business.

DESTITUTIONS OF THE CIVIL WAR

In 1862, in search of his brother George, Whitman journeyed to Fredericksburg. George had battled for the Union and was being given medical treatment for the wounds he had received in a fight. In the next year, Whitman shifted to Washington, D.C., and started working a part-time job in the office of paymaster. He spent the rest of his time visiting the wounded soldiers of war.
This volunteer work, though, was very exhausting, it also proved to be life-changing. This propelled Whitman to return to poetry. In 1865, Whitman published Drum-Taps, a collection representing a sincere realization of war and the true meaning of war who are struggling very hard because of it. Another edition Sequel was published, which contained 18 new poems. 
Walt Whitman was an American journalist, poet, and essayist. He was a humanist writer and existed in a time of transition between transcendentalism to realism; therefore, he integrated both views in his works. In American canon, Walt Whitman is among the most influential poets. In his time, his works appear to be controversial, specifically the collection of poems Leaves of Grass. For its explicit sensuality, the collection was described as obscene. For his supposed homosexuality, the life of Whitman came under inquiry..