American+Folk+Culture

Miss Shoemaker's Page =AMERICAN FOLK CULTURE=

America is a big country. When we talk about American folk culture, we often think of different places and times in America. We might think of the Wild West in the seventeen and eighteen hundreds. We might think of the Native Americans. We might think of the culture of the slaves and freedmen who came out of slavery. This page will focus on the culture and music of the "common folk" from Appalachia and the Wild West during the time of expansion.

It might be useful to know that the United States of America is comprised of two major mountain ranges - one on the Eastern side and one on the Western side - and a section of plains in between the two. The country was very young at the time people were making what has become known as American folk music. Most people lived in rural areas and small towns. Even the cities were small compared to our cities today. Most music making of the time was done at home or within these small communities. Barn dances or dances held in someone's home were common.

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English is and was the most widely used language in America. Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edgar Allan Poe, and Henry David Thoreau are some of the famous writers from the 1800s. American literature traditions are related to British literature. Because most of the immigrants into America came from Europe, where the prevalent religion was Christian, the majority of Americans practice Christian faiths. Typical forms of entertainment in America during the Westward Expansion include square dancing, music-making in the home or local community, and - in the cities - blackface minstrel shows. These minstrel shows were the first form of American theater.

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