Whitman is a wonderful democracy as a poet of democracy. He is often regarded as the finest poet of American democracy. Whitman's democracy is founded on a belief in the intrinsic dignity and nobility of the ordinary man. As a result, he is both the poet of democracy and the poet of America. He is the first great American poet. In addition to being a great poet, Whitman was also a successful businessman, journalist, and activist who fought for the rights of African-Americans and union workers. He was a major figure in the development of modern poetry by using free verse forms that were innovative at the time. His work has been influential in other genres of music as well as other arts such as painting and theater. Whitman was born on May 31, 1819 in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. His father was a prosperous farmer who owned his own farm when Whitman was young. At the age of 14, after his parents died within a year of each other, Whitman went to live with an uncle and aunt in Camden, New Jersey. Here he learned about journalism and worked during the day while studying poetry at night. In 1840, Whitman traveled to Brooklyn, New York City where he hoped to make his living as a writer. However, the market for poems at the time was not strong enough for him to earn a living this way so he took a job as an editor with a newspaper published in Rochester, New York.