The second of nine children, Whitman was called “Walt” at a young age to differentiate from his father, Walter Whitman, Sr. His family moved frequently due to bad investments. Whitman remembered his childhood as restless and unhappy. But he did have one happy childhood memory from July 4, 1825. On that occasion he met the Marquis de Lafayette, who lifted the six-year up in the air and kissed him on the cheek.
Whitman attended school until he was 11, after which he began working to help the family. He worked in a lawyer’s office before taking a job at the weekly paper Patriot. While there, he may have written occasional filler material. He went on to work for another paper and submitted some of his early poetry anonymously to the New York Mirror.
Whitman briefly tried teaching but didn’t find it satisfying so he founded his own newspaper, the Long Islander. He worked as publisher, editor, pressman, and distributor. He sold the publication after 10 months and for the next few years tried his hand at teaching again and worked for several other papers before serving as a founding member of the Free Soil Party.