In the poem, "O Captain! My Captain," Walt Whitman discusses the tragic death of President Abraham Lincoln. However, alongside this description, Whitman reflects on the situation that the nation was experiencing at the moment.
This event occurred shortly after the end of the Civil War. The end of such war allowed the country to begin to heal. This is what Whitman refers to as "From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won." However, many issues remained unresolved, such as the role of African Americans or the unity of the North and the South.
The country has changed a lot throughout its history. Before the war, the South and the North were very different, and this was expressed in a great variety of ways, including through their ideologies, culture, art, economic pursuits and patriotism. After the Civil War, some of these questions were resolved, such as those of patriotism and unity. However, some of these questions continue to have an effect in the present, such as those that relate to race. Nevertheless, many issues have improved greatly, such as the unity between the South and the North and the development of a national identity.
