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"Let Thy Conscience Act Her Part": Republican Motherhood In Civil War Popular Song, Gianna Patchett
"Let Thy Conscience Act Her Part": Republican Motherhood In Civil War Popular Song, Gianna Patchett
Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects
In the American Civil War, described by Christian McWhirter as a war fought to music, popular song played a significant role in the expression and processing of wartime emotions and ideologies. Civil War songs with lyrics written by women show feminine strength in tragedy, challenges due to societal expectations, and the day to day difficulties of wartime on the homefront. One concept that unites these themes is that of Republican Motherhood, an ideology developed in the Revolutionary War, but which continued to be prevalent throughout the 19th Century. This paradigm places female experience in the context of duty, patriotism, …