Song Samples (MP3 Format) Shenandoah  (3.122 MB mp3 file)  Square Dance  (742 KB mp3 file) This volume includes forty-four of the songs Americans sang as their nation expanded westward across the continent during the period between the War of 1812 and the Civil War. Playing time: two hours. "...entertaining interpretations of American history through folksong." --- American West "...pleasant and informative renditions. The voices of these two singers blend well...the lyrics are clear." --- Choice Buy/Listen To Individual Songs Online. Disk 1            Disk 2   Part One: Territorial Expansion and Abolition As the United States expanded into the old Northwest Territory, Louisiana Territory and the Pacific Northwest, Americans built canals, cut forests, farmed the land, and trapped beaver. Their songs reflected their pride, fears and hopes, and described the dangers, the boredom, the discomforts and the loneliness of life on these new frontiers. Songs were effective tools for African-Americans. Slaves spread the word of escape plans through "code" songs. Songs about the hardships of slavery helped recruit white support for abolition and the Underground Railroad.  The Songs: Old Rosin The Beau Shenandoah  (3.122 MB mp3 file)  To The West Darling Nellie Gray The Erie Canal Steal Away The Wisconsin Emigrant The Abolitionist Hymn The Shanty-Man's Life Follow The Drinking Gourd The Jam On Gerry's Rocks Part Two: Texas and the Mexican War The lyric quality and rhythmic patterns of Mexican folk music reflect our Mexican heritage. Americans who settled in Texas sang of Texas Rangers and the struggle to make Texas a republic. During the Mexican War, soldiers sang of American General Zachary Taylor and Mexican General Santa Anna, of the 2,000 mile march of the Mormon Battalion, and of brutal treatment at the hands of their own officers.  The Songs: Cielito Lindo (Norteño) Zachary Taylor Cielito Lindo (Huasteca) The Mormon Battalion Song El Capotin Buck Him And Gag Him The Texas Rangers The Leg I Left Behind Me The Texas War Cry Las Mañanitas Will You Come To The Bower Part Three: Minstrel Shows and the California Gold Rush Miners carried minstrel tunes to the gold camps in California and wrote parodies which created a vivid picture of life among the forty-niners.  The Songs: Old Dan Tucker The Days Of Forty-Nine Camptown Races Square Dance  (742 KB mp3 file) Hard Times Come Again No More California Ball Oh, California Sweet Betsy From Pike Crossing The Plains California As It Is Part Four Immigrants from China, Ireland and Germany The songs depict the prejudice against California's Chinese population in the 1850s and the suffering of the Irish, fleeing famine, as they migrated to a new, often hostile, home in America. The songs also reflect the defiance and spirit of the Germans who, after losing the fight for a free Germany, sought freedom in the United States.  The Songs: The Heathen Chinee Lather n' Shave Em John Chinaman The Night That Paddy Murphy Died John Chinaman's Appeal The Bold Fenian Men The Famine Song Die Gedanken Sind Frei No Irish Need Apply O Tannenbaum Who Threw The Overalls In Mrs. Murphy's Chowder Du, Du, Liegst Mir Im Herzen Order CD's and Song Books Back to: Back to: