The Passing of Grandison allowed Chestnut to show the complexity of the relationship of the slave to the master and the view of the free black by the Southerner. Before his trip to the north with Dick Owens, Grandison was the most loyal of slaves according to the Colonel, and could not be swayed by the aboiltionist. That is the only reason why he was sent with Dick to New York instead of Tom. The loss of Grandison was more of a crushing blow to the ego of the Colonel as he thought that he could never abandon his masters.
Dick was right in assuming that even the most fervently loyal slaves would value their freedom above the happiness they thought they had while enslaved. Throughout the story Grandison was given many chances to flee by Dick, but he never took his opportunity. In retrospect, his freedom was probably not something that he wanted to be given, rather, he wanted to earn it on his own terms. Dick and Grandison's sentiment were probably shared by many people during the end of the Antebellum, with slaves believing they were content with their lives, and some young slave owners feeling indifferent towards owning slaves and freeing them.
Dick's lack of motivation was also shared by some in the North and South. While there were radical abolitionists who worked diligently to free slaves and help them establish themselves, many were not motivated to action. Dick was motivated only to impress Charity and probably was not against freeing slaves. He even says that his family can afford to lose one slave and that they have plenty.

Throughout the novel I cannot remember a point in which Mark Twain tells his audience exactly how old Huck is. His independent nature and knowledge or survival methods lead the reader to think that Huck has had to be on his own for a while, which could mean that he is in his teenage years. His relationship with Widow Douglas and Miss Watson indicate that he needs to be cared for a lot, and that he is still of school age. That tells us that he could be much younger.
Twain seems to have purposely left the age of his protagonist ambiguous to reiterate his naivety and his malleability in his belief system and morals. It would be very difficult, if not impossible for an adult to be open enough to experience the transformation that Huck went through. Huck's impressionable mind had not yet formed its ideals about religion and morals, and his time in hiding with Jim allowed him to rethink everything that he had been taught in his brief life, and he was able to develop his own belief system.
The ambiguousness of both he and Tom's age forces readers to be less critical of their actions. As the reader learns view to Tom and Huck as young children, their immoral choices are less likely to be judged as harshly, such as when they kept Jim locked up even after they knew he was free. Their choice to play out Tom's elaborate plot is seen as a child's imagination running wild at the worst time possible, but during this time this plot and their previous moral code and belief system were not uncommon. Twain seems to show readers that the actions of the people during this time may be seen as a child-like ignorance, but they cannot be judged as such. If a child like Huck is capable of making his own decisions so should the adults of his generation.

"Drums! Beat! Drums!" supports Neely's position as to Whitman being a "Mystic Nationalist". Whitman more probably supported the Emancipation Proclamation because it is an act to reunite the Nation, but he may not have agreed with the actual document in itself. Even for President Lincoln the most important issue was to reinstate the Union, and not freeing slaves.
Whitman's earlier poems hint at him being a stronger proponent for the end of slavery, but he never portrays himself as a dedicated abolitonist during his life or during the Civil War. Whitman probably strongly supported President Lincoln because they shared similar ideals regarding the Union and the purpose of the war.
"Drums! Beat! Drums! is a fervent call to arms and declaration of pending victory for the Union, and he notes that all people should be a part of the union victory, as they will all here the drums beat. It is not necessarily speaking of the call to free the slaves.
Whitman's poem was one that draws on the emotions of readers and supporters of the Union. In the first stanza the drums "burst like a ruthless force". He calls for people to abandon their normal activities and devote themselves to the cause of the Union. Their way of life is being threated by the Confederate secession, and Whitman feels it should be defended by all.
In Whitman's stanza he calls for all people to play a role and fight for their liberties and a part of the Union. He urges people to not give sympathy to the forces, and for their passion for their country heard in the drums resound through all noises, even loud enough for the "trestles to shake the dead where they lie waiting the hearses".