Leaves of Grass: First and "Death-Bed" Editions

Although Emily Dickinson praised Abraham Lincoln for reading it she thought the books provocative language and topics were disgraceful. It was the most astounding stroke of wit and wisdom that America has yet produced according to Ralph Waldo Emerson. Leaves of Grass which was published on July 4 at the authors expense introduced a new voice and style to American literature and expressed an exuberant hopeful vision that treated the country as its subject.