Chapter 3: American Popular Music in the Nineteenth Century Pt.2
As the Industrial Revolution took hold in the late 18th and early 19th centuries advances in manufacturing, transportation, and domestic technologies led to rising urbanization and the growth of a middle class. For many middle-class families, one symbol of cultural aspiration and social status was the piano. As piano ownership became more common, music lessons and amateur music-making became staples of domestic life. With this shift came a new market: printed sheet music. Long before the invention of recorded sound, sheet music was the primary means by which popular songs circulated. Consumers purchased the latest hits to play at home, and publishers responded by producing songs across a range of popular genres. This commercial boom laid the foundation for a music publishing industry centered in cities like New York, Boston, and Philadelphia.
The mid-19th century, however, brought deep national division. Long-standing conflicts over slavery, economics, and federal versus state authority culminated in the American Civil War (1861–1865). Eleven Southern states, collectively known as the Confederacy, attempted to secede from the United States in defense of slavery and to assert regional autonomy and pride. In response, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, declaring enslaved people in Confederate states legally free. Ratified on December 6, 1865, the Thirteenth Amendment formally abolished slavery in the United States, declaring that "neither slavery nor involuntary servitude... shall exist within the United States." These events had profound implications for American music. Songs became tools of patriotism, protest, mourning, and mobilization, while the commercial music industry grew rapidly, driven by sheet music sales and new forms of live entertainment like blackface minstrelsy.
During the war, music played a significant role on both the battlefield and the home front. Soldiers from both North and South sang familiar tunes—many drawn from minstrel shows, which had widespread popularity regardless of region. These songs offered comfort, morale, and a sense of unity among troops. Back home, families relied on sentimental ballads, hymns, and patriotic anthems published as sheet music to express hope, grief, and national pride. Some songs explicitly supported abolition or glorified Union ideals, while others idealized the sacrifices of Confederate soldiers.
The Civil War reshaped the nation politically and marked a turning point in America’s cultural life. The use of music for both political expression and emotional connection during the war demonstrated the growing power of popular music as a force in shaping public sentiment.
The home became a central space for musical activity, especially for middle-class women, who were encouraged to study music as part of their domestic education. Learning to play the piano or sing parlor songs was seen not only as a sign of refinement and virtue but also as a form of social capital, an accomplishment that could improve a woman’s marriage prospects and family reputation. For children, music education became increasingly common as part of moral and intellectual development. Parlor songs, often performed on the piano, addressed themes of courtship, longing, national pride, and social reform. Music also played an important role in promoting causes like abolition and temperance, making it a vital element of 19th century reform movements.