Walt Whitman was born on May 31, 1819 in Long Island, New York. He was influenced greatly by Shakespeare and Abraham Lincoln. He was mostly self-taught because he was pulled from public school to support his family. Whitman spent many years of his life traveling back and forth from his home and New York City. Whitman supported a number of issues, such as "Americanism" in literature and the importance of the common man. He lived during the American Renaissance which greatly influenced him and many other writers at the time. Walt Whitman learned many lessons of life by his parents. …
