Poem deplores slavery but is resigned to presidential victory of Buchanan, mentions local affairs and asks a tip.

Poem mourns death of the "noble old chieftain," Zachary Taylor, without naming him, then mentions new buildings in Erie along with doctors, lawyers and ladies, and requests tip.

The pen was as mighty as the musket during the American Revolution, as poets waged literary war against politicians, journalists, and each other. Drawing on hundreds of poems, Poetry Wars reconstructs the important public role of poetry in the early republic and examines the reciprocal relationship between political conflict and verse.

Poem describes carrier boy's toil and asks a tip, then describes loss of the steamer Atlantic, a local train wreck, and the gift of a clock for the First Baptist Church tower.