Whitman’s war writings have been criticized on the grounds that he turns to pastoralism to justify the violence of the Civil War. Whitman was in fact intrigued by the pastoral tradition stretching from Virgil forward. Rather than being in thrall to arcadian fantasies, Whitman instead “sees through” (in both senses) pastoralism. His writings avoid romantic claptrap that serves to justify wartime violence. He experienced the war from the vantage points of New York City and Washington, DC, and he shows no yearning for an idyllic rural retreat, nor does he indulge in nostalgia for a lost way of life. Pastoralism often involves the care of cattle, and this chapter probes the ties between African Americans, cattle, and an anti-pastoral tradition.
Ethnic and Racial Identities of Second-Generation Black Immigrants in New York City