Moby-Dick explors American Political History

Alan Heimert’s “Moby-Dick and American Political Symbolism” explored a few aspects of American history that were weaved into Melville’s tale. Slavery was one of them. According to the Civil War Home Page, of all the roughly 1.5 million families in the American South, about one in four owned slaves. According to the 1860 U.S. Census Bureau, there were nearly four million slaves held in the 15 slave states. These statistics were reflected in the story by the harpooners, who played a secondary role to the ship’s mates such as Stubb and Flask. Heimert also drew a connection between the Pequod and the United States at the time, which was referred to as “the Ship of State.” The Compromise of 1850 signaled the end of a turbulent era for U.S. politics, and this was supposed to reflect the turbulent voyage of the Pequod.