Yale University Library Research Guides: YYGS Music and Power: Home

Welcome!

We welcome you to our class, Music and Power, which will explore the intersection of music and power with a variety of examples from the 19th and 20th centuries. Each of our topics is built around a musical resource from the special collections of the Yale University Library: either a manuscript or piece of printed music or a historic recording. These are complemented by historic texts and photographs, as well as contemporary recordings and videos. Were we meeting in person, we would be able to show you some of the originals, but as we are not able to do that we have focused on materials that have been digitized and placed online. We hope that someday we will have an opportunity to welcome you to the Yale Music Library, where you may arrange to see some of these resources in person.

Political Campaign Music

Political Campaign Music
During the American presidential election of 1860, a group called the "Wide-Awakes" held torchlight parades and wore military-style uniforms. They supported the candidacy of Abraham Lincoln and opposed the extension of slavery. They produced a pocket-sized book of songs to promote their ideas.

World War I Songs

World War I Songs
American popular sheet music from 1913-1918 reflects the changing public perspectives on the war. Some of these songs were popular enough to have been recorded, and these early recordings can often be found online.

Women's Suffrage Music

Women's Suffrage Movement: The March of the Women
Ethel Smyth (1858-1944), the most prominent female British composer of her era, was a major figure in the struggle to gain women the right to vote in the United Kingdom. She went to prison for throwing a rock through the window of a member of the cabinet, and she composed The March of the Women in 1911, the suffragist movement's anthem.

Jazz Diplomacy

Jazz Diplomacy: Benny Goodman and Others
During the Cold War, the U.S. State Department organized a series of international concert tours by famous jazz musicians, as a way of improving America's image overseas. Benny Goodman and his band made two such tours: to several east Asian countries in 1956-57, and to the Soviet Union in 1962.

U.S. Race Relations and Music

U.S. Race Relations: Lift Every Voice and Sing
“Lift Every Voice and Sing” was composed by two brothers, James Weldon Johnson (words) and J. Rosamond Johnson (music) in 1900. By 1929 it became known as the “Negro National Anthem.” The song’s relevance continues to the present day.