Klammer, Martin. Whitman, Slavery, and the Emergence of Leaves of Grass. University
Park: Pennsylvania State UP, 1995.  Klammer examines the development of Whitman’s feelings toward race and slavery in his early life leading up to the first publication of Leaves of Grass.  In Klammer’s chapter titled, “Emerson, New Orleans, and an Emerging Voice,” he attempts to show how Whitman’s relationship with Emerson and his exposure to slavery in New Orleans sponsor the formation of Whitman’s new voice that speaks for all of humanity.  Klammer describes the development of Whitman’s egalitarian ideology, which led him to place slaves and masters on equal planes.  Researchers wanting to learn more about Emerson’s influence on Whitman, or those seeking to learn more about Whitman’s attitudes toward race would find this piece helpful.