FolkMusic
  in
United States History

 

     For generations, people have been singing folk songs.  These are songs that tell how people feel about the things in life that matter to them, their jobs, their families, their religion, their customs, or their country.  Since folks songs are usually not formally composed, but simply passed on from one generation to the next, even those who could not read or write could share the events of their generation with those of the next.  Therefore, it is no accident that historians often begin their study of a particular culture with its music.
    Our own musical heritage is a rich one.  It rode with Paul Revere, marched with the Sons of Liberty at Lexington and Concord, sailed on the square riggers of early New England, traveled west with the wagon trains, and worked side by side with the slaves on the cotton and tobacco plantations of the south.  It was present at the battle of Fort McHenry, and at the one hundredth anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.  All of this belongs to us, to use and to enjoy, and, hopefully, to protect and preserve.
    The knowledge of one's homeland is never
complete without an understanding of its music, and in these pages I will try to give a broad overview of that, and give a few examples from the hundreds of songs that exist.  Time and space do not allow for all the verses of most of the songs, but the complete versions can be found in most collections of folk songs.  In the table below, you will find categories listed by historical period or topic.  Use the links to travel to your area of interest.
 

Songs of the Revolution	S.S.Banner	Canals
Railroads	Riverboats	Spirituals
Civil War	National Hymn	Conclusion