Songs of '76

In all wars, jingoistic songs are created to spur the people to fight, encourage those who do not fight to support the war and to maintain the morale of all. The American revolutionary war was no exception and this book contains many of the songs that urged the people on the American side to continue the struggle. Most of them are short and not all of them appear as they did in 1776. This is noted by the rather frequent footnote New music and edited text (c) 1972 by Oscar Brand Since Brand often does not explain what changes were made, it is not possible to know how close the music and text are to the original. Nevertheless, the basic form and intent of the jingles comes through very clearly. Brand also includes some text that provides some historical context to the song. There are many ways to study history; this is one of the few books that allow you to study it through music. It demonstrates an often neglected side of conflicts, where singing and music are used as a powerful weapon to encourage people to continue the fight.