The Walt Whitman Archive
In Whitman's Hand
Manuscripts
About this Item
Title: A nation announcing itself
Creator: Walt Whitman
Date: 1855 or 1856
Whitman Archive ID: duk.00030
Source: Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University. Transcribed from digital images of the original. For a description of the editorial rationale behind our treatment of manuscripts, see our statement of editorial policy.
Editorial note: This manuscript consists of draft lines that were published first under the title "Poem of Many in One" in the 1856 edition of Leaves of Grass. The poem was revised many times throughout Whitman's career and, in its final form, was titled "By Blue Ontario's Shore."
Related item: On the back of this leaf is a series of draft notes and lines related to the poem published first as "Poem of Salutation" in the 1856 edition of Leaves of Grass, and later as "Salut Au Monde!" See duk.00886.
Contributors to digital file: Andrew Jewell, Kenneth Price, Brett Barney, Zane Zimbelman, Lisa Renfro, Nick Krauter, and Nicole Gray
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A nation announcing itself,
I myself make the only growth by which I
shall can
be appreciated;
I reject none, receive all, reproduce all in modern
forms.
A breed whose testimony is behaviour,
What we are, we are . . . nativity is answer enough
to all objections,
We wield ourselves as a weapon is wielded,
We are powerful and tremendous in ourselves,
We are executive by ourselves . . . we are sufficient
in the variety of ourselves,
We are the most beautiful to ourselves, and in ourselves,
Nothing is sinful to us outside of ourselves . . . pious
Whatever or appears, whatever does not
appear, we
are beautiful or sinful in ourselves.—
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![[Page image: https://whitmanarchive.org/manuscripts/figures/duk_nhg.00405_large.jpg]](https://whitmanarchive.org/manuscripts/figures/duk_nhg.00405_large.jpg)