The U.S. Civil War Through Politics and Music Jack Fitch SSE /03/05

Ordinance of Secession We, the people of the State of Florida, in convention assembled, do solemnly ordain, publish, and declare, That the State of Florida hereby withdraws herself from the confederacy of States existing under the name of the United States of America and from the existing Government of the said States; and that all political connection between her and the Government of said States ought to be, and the same is hereby, totally annulled, and said Union of States dissolved; and the State of Florida is hereby declared a sovereign and independent nation; and that all ordinances heretofore adopted, in so far as they create or recognize said Union, are rescinded; and all laws or parts of laws in force in this State, in so far as they recognize or assent to said Union, be, and they are hereby, repealed. Passed January 10, 1861

In Depth.. Important Speeches and Documents: Constitution of the Confederacy : Gettysburg Address: "Fourscore and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth upon this continent a new Nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now, we are engaged in a great Civil War, testing whether that Nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting-place for those who gave their lives that that Nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it far above our power to add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us, the living, rather to be dedicated to the great task remaining before us; that from these honored dead, we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion; that this Nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and that government of the People by the People and for the People shall not perish from the earth." Abraham Lincoln

In Depth Continued.. The Emancipation of Proclamation: Whereas on the 22nd day of September, A.D. 1862, a proclamation was issued by the President of the United States, containing, among other things, the following, to wit: "That on the 1st day of January, A.D. 1863, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the executive government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom…”

The Music..

“Without music, there would have been no army.”- Robert E. Lee

Songs of the Confederacy

Songs of the Union Battle Hymn of the Republic Taps Camptown Races

Questions to Consider.. What kinds of feelings did documents like the Constitution of the Confederacy and speeches like the Gettysburg Address invoke in those who read and heard the words? What kinds of feelings were felt by those who listened to and sang the songs of the war? Why was music so important to the soldiers and others involved in the war effort? What connections can you draw between the feelings that something like the Emancipation Proclamation and a song like “Dixie Land” might bring?

References and Websites to Visit