Note especially the connections delineated between slavery, land, and knowledge…
Category: Program: End of the World
Kingdom Coming: Union Troops Parade in Richmond
“The demonstrations of the colored people on witnessing the review were at times frantic for joy beyond all description…”
Picayune Butler’s Come to Town (Rice, 1858)
“And when he made his appearance you should have heard the reception he got. I thought the roof would fall off…”: Picayune Butler takes New York & Tokyo by storm.
Star-Spangled Banner (Key, 1814)
What’s the connection between the US National Anthem, militant slave uprisings, and the burning of the White House?
I’m Off for Nicaragua (Rice, 1858)
Phil Rice gives us this striking vision of slavery carried south in the service of the Filibuster president, General William Walker:
Just Before the Battle, Mother (Root, 1863)
“At my request they sat down and sang, and when about half through, as I stepped to the door, a shell exploded within fifty yards…”
My Old Kentucky Home (Foster, 1853)
Stephen Foster’s anthem recounts “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” in three verses.
Song of the 1st of Arkansas (1864)
This rewrite of “Battle-Hymn of the Republic” puts the agency of social and economic upheaval squarely on the shoulders — or rather, under the boot-heels — of Colored Troops.
Kingdom Coming: “It was a proud moment for Robert” (1863)
Esther Hill Hawks ~ Diary (February 1863) ~ “It was a proud moment for Robert when he placed a guard of colored soldiers around the house of his former owner…”
Babylon is Fallen (Work, 1863)
After the Emancipation Proclamation changed the face of the Civil War, Henry Clay Work released this sequel to his popular “Kingdom Coming”:
Kingdom Coming (Work, 1862)
Popular in both the North and the South, perhaps because of his ambiguous treatment of the plight of “contraband” (liberated slaves) …
Marching Through Georgia (Work, 1865)
This jaunty march commemorating Sherman’s March to the Sea proved to be one of Henry Clay Work’s most famous pieces:
The Hardtacks 