s the stamp of the frontier on him (Oates 16). Thus, he becomes a product of the great Western prairies, a religious skeptic, open, candid, energetic, trusting, and brave (Oates 16). But it was Carl Sandburg's 1928 biography of Lincoln, which was based on the mythos created by Walt Whitman, which would finally merge the mythic figure of saint and folk hero into the image of Lincoln that would eventually resonate.
In February 1861, Whitman was captivated when he saw President-elect Lincoln as he passed through New York City (Oates 16). Oates maintains that from that moment, Whitman idolized Lincoln and insisted that
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