{"product_id":"resist-much-obey-little-whitman-t-shirt","title":"Resist Much, Obey Little — Whitman T-Shirt","description":"\u003cp\u003eFour words that have been printed on protest signs for sixty years, usually by people who don't know there's a poem attached. There is — three lines of it, and the two Whitman wrote after the famous ones are the reason the famous ones matter.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eWalt Whitman, \"To the States,\" Leaves of Grass, 1881\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\"Resist much, obey little\"\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eContext\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRead alone, it sounds like a slogan. Read in place, it's an argument with a conclusion: unquestioning obedience leads to enslavement, and enslavement doesn't reverse. Whitman put the warning first and the reasoning after, which is the opposite of how anyone argues on a poster.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHe titled it \"Walt Whitman's Caution\" when it first appeared in 1860. It only became \"To the States\" in 1881, after twenty years of moving it around the book looking for where it belonged.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eWho It's For\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eYou've read enough history to know how fast a thing becomes official\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eYou think for yourself and expect the same from everyone else\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIf you've ever wanted a shirt that makes an argument rather than a noise, this is it\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eThe Design\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe four words refuse to line up. The second half steps out to the right instead of settling underneath, so the phrase never squares into a tidy block — a line about not falling in line, set so it doesn't.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThat imbalance is \u003cem\u003efukinsei\u003c\/em\u003e: the Japanese principle that something deliberately left uneven holds your eye longer than something made symmetrical. One word carries more ink than the rest — \u003cem\u003emuch\u003c\/em\u003e. The argument isn't whether to resist. It's how much.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eAbout This Tee\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLightweight 4.2 oz\/yd² combed and ring-spun cotton\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUnisex relaxed fit\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVintage black\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMachine wash cold, inside out; tumble dry low\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eQuoteiac logo on the left sleeve\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eSize Chart (Bella+Canvas)\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"table-responsive\"\u003e\n\u003ctable cellpadding=\"5\"\u003e\n\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWIDTH (inches)\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLENGTH (inches)\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eXS\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e15½\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e25\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eS\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e17½\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e26\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eM\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e19½\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e27\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eL\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e21½\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e28\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eXL\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e23½\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e29\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e2XL\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e25½\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e30\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/tbody\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eWalt Whitman, in Plain English\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBorn in West Hills, New York, 1819; died in Camden, New Jersey, 1892\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSet type as a young man and never stopped thinking like a printer — he oversaw the physical making of his own books\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSelf-published the first \u003cem\u003eLeaves of Grass\u003c\/em\u003e in 1855: a preface and twelve untitled poems, his name nowhere on the title page. He rebuilt the book five more times over the next twenty-six years\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWorked as a schoolteacher, a newspaper editor and a government clerk — the poems came out of the day job, not instead of it\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe 1881 Osgood edition is where the book finally held its shape: five new clusters, poems grouped by argument instead of chronology\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eMore from this collection\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/products\/resist-much-obey-little-whitman-phone-case\"\u003eResist Much, Obey Little — Whitman Phone Case\u003c\/a\u003e — the same four words, carried. See the full \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/walt-whitman\"\u003eWalt Whitman collection\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/journal\/walt-whitman-be-curious-not-judgmental\"\u003eRead: Ted Lasso's Best Quote Came From a 1986 Advice Column →\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Quoteiac","offers":[{"title":"XS","offer_id":43137004044382,"sku":"6837682_21593","price":32.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"S","offer_id":43137004077150,"sku":"6837682_21594","price":32.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"M","offer_id":43137004109918,"sku":"6837682_21595","price":32.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"L","offer_id":43137004142686,"sku":"6837682_21596","price":32.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"XL","offer_id":43137004175454,"sku":"6837682_21597","price":32.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"2XL","offer_id":43137004208222,"sku":"6837682_21598","price":34.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0554\/8664\/4318\/files\/Resist-Much-Whitman-Tee-front.png?v=1786228830","url":"https:\/\/quoteiac.com\/products\/resist-much-obey-little-whitman-t-shirt","provider":"Quoteiac","version":"1.0","type":"link"}