Is that what Whitman intends to convey? My uninformed take is that he is just making an observation on the atmosphere around the country.
Hmmm...
Somewhere I read that Whitman may have helped Lincoln with some of his better speeches, notably at Gettysburg.
How else to explain such a country rube bumpkin writing so poetically?
Probably not strictly true, but just true enough that I’m reluctant to read Whitman’s “Drums!” even a little ironically.