We have fed you all 1000 years: nineteenth-century radical song and the rise of North American labor

Political song, especially that which fits new words to existing melodies' semiotic associations, has been used by Americans as an oppositional tool throughout the history of the United States. Activists employed tunes' "virality" to disseminate political stances and these practi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAmerican nineteenth century history Vol. 24; no. 3; pp. 257 - 282
Main Author Smith, Christopher J.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Abingdon Routledge 02.09.2023
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
19th century
Activism
contrafact
Labor movements
Music
Political participation
Radicalism
song
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Summary:Political song, especially that which fits new words to existing melodies' semiotic associations, has been used by Americans as an oppositional tool throughout the history of the United States. Activists employed tunes' "virality" to disseminate political stances and these practices played a key role in the rise of the modern labor movement. This article traces that history, through a succession of contextualized examples linking nineteenth-century political song to contemporary activism.
ISSN:1466-4658
1743-7903
DOI:10.1080/14664658.2023.2304452