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Symbolism in Afro-American Slave Songs in the Pre-Civil War South

This thesis examines the symbolism of thirty-five slave songs that existed in the pre-Civil War South in the United States in order to gain a more profound insight into the values of the slaves. The songs chosen were representative of the 300 songs reviewed. The methodology used in the analysis was adapted from Ralph K. White's "Value Analysis: The Nature and Use of the Method." The slave songs provided the slaves with an opportunity to express their feelings on matters they deemed important, often by using Biblical symbols to "mask" the true meanings of their songs from whites. The major values of the slaves as found in their songs were independence, justice, determination, religion, hope, family love, and group unity.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:unt.edu/info:ark/67531/metadc663010
Date12 1900
CreatorsSebastian, Jeannie Chaney
ContributorsStupp, Vicki O., Cooper, Jed Arthur
PublisherNorth Texas State University
Source SetsUniversity of North Texas
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis or Dissertation
Formativ, 117 leaves, Text
RightsPublic, Sebastian, Jeannie Chaney, Copyright, Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights

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