Singing Patriotism: An Analysis of American Revolutionary Broadside Ballads 1770-1779
Document Type
Oral Presentation
Campus where you would like to present
Ellensburg
Event Website
https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/source
Start Date
18-5-2020
Abstract
My paper is about how music was used as a tool by the wealthy elite to spread messages of freedom and liberty in the era of the American Revolution. These wealthy elite in the North American British colonies used music that to cultivate support in the general population of the American colonists for liberation from Great Britian, gaining freedom and liberty for themselves. Such a combination is found in places of such unrest as the revolutionary era in early US history. By examining the pieces of music that took tunes from British songs with new American lyrics, my paper discusses how these new songs created an easier avenue for people to show their support and I find that I examine songs that were printed on broadsides, known as “Broadside Ballads.” These were songs that were printed on posters and the common British melodies used made learning and repeating the messages easier. Some were taken from British innocently and others purposely made fun of the original piece. By studying the difference between the tunes and the syllables in each piece is how I determine that. Different ways of spreading messages of liberty and freedom for a new nation were needed to get around the British rules in place created new avenues by which to spread such messages. These helped raise awareness of liberty and the oppression the Americans were facing. The stolen songs they sang came from their place of yearning, for freedom and a world in which they could live under a government of their own creation. My paper brings in a mix of biography and musicology to the standard history research to have a well-rounded view of the people writing these new lyrics and how the songs came to be so popular as to echo through the pages of history.
Recommended Citation
Shogren, Katherine, "Singing Patriotism: An Analysis of American Revolutionary Broadside Ballads 1770-1779" (2020). Symposium Of University Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE). 21.
https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/source/2020/CAH/21
Department/Program
History
Additional Mentoring Department
https://cwu.studentopportunitycenter.com/2020/04/singing-patriotism-an-analysis-of-american-revolutionary-broadside-ballads-1770-1779/
Singing Patriotism: An Analysis of American Revolutionary Broadside Ballads 1770-1779
Ellensburg
My paper is about how music was used as a tool by the wealthy elite to spread messages of freedom and liberty in the era of the American Revolution. These wealthy elite in the North American British colonies used music that to cultivate support in the general population of the American colonists for liberation from Great Britian, gaining freedom and liberty for themselves. Such a combination is found in places of such unrest as the revolutionary era in early US history. By examining the pieces of music that took tunes from British songs with new American lyrics, my paper discusses how these new songs created an easier avenue for people to show their support and I find that I examine songs that were printed on broadsides, known as “Broadside Ballads.” These were songs that were printed on posters and the common British melodies used made learning and repeating the messages easier. Some were taken from British innocently and others purposely made fun of the original piece. By studying the difference between the tunes and the syllables in each piece is how I determine that. Different ways of spreading messages of liberty and freedom for a new nation were needed to get around the British rules in place created new avenues by which to spread such messages. These helped raise awareness of liberty and the oppression the Americans were facing. The stolen songs they sang came from their place of yearning, for freedom and a world in which they could live under a government of their own creation. My paper brings in a mix of biography and musicology to the standard history research to have a well-rounded view of the people writing these new lyrics and how the songs came to be so popular as to echo through the pages of history.
https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/source/2020/CAH/21
Faculty Mentor(s)
Daniel Herman and Mark Samples