Artist Resources: The Songs of a Young Nation Competition

Looking for inspiration for the Songs of a Young Nation Competition? Explore the music that carried America from Revolution to Reconstruction (1770–1877). These archives and collections can help you find original melodies, lyrics, and instruments — or inspire new ways to reimagine the sounds of our first century. This contest is co-sponsored by the American Battlefield Trust and the Ray and Vera Conniff Foundation.
 

Revolutionary War (1770s–1780s)

• Massachusetts Historical Society | Digital Collections
  Songs and manuscripts from New England’s Revolutionary past
• Library of Congress | Notated Music
  One of the largest collections of notated music in the world with over 22 million items. These include popular sheet music, instrumental and vocal music, scores and parts, and original manuscripts from composers of all eras.
• Library of Congress | 1759 to 1799 | Songs of America Timeline
  Explore cultural and historical events from 1759 to 1799 related to American song.
• Library of Congress | Songs of the Revolution
  Broadside ballads, lyrics, and historical commentary
• Library of Congress | US Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps
  The role of fifes, drums, and military music

War of 1812

• Colenda Digital Repository
  Digitized sheet music and commentary
• Smithsonian Folkways Recordings | War of 1812
  Ballads and lyrics tied to the conflict
• Library of Congress | “The Star-Spangled Banner” Origins
  Explore Francis Scott Key’s famous lyric and its musical roots

Civil War (1861 – 1867)

• Duke University | Historic American Sheet Music (Civil War focus)
  Thousands of digitized pieces, including political songs and ballads
• Library of Congress | Civil War Sheet Music Collection
  Tens of thousands of digitized songs from the conflict
• Smithsonian Folkways Recordings | Ballads of the Civil War
  Curated recordings and educational material

Sounds of America (Cross-Era Inspiration)

• Slave Songs of the United States (1867)
  The first published collection of African American spirituals. Use with care: reflects biases of its time, but a critical source for understanding slavery-era music.
• Library of Congress | African American Spirituals
• Library of Congress | Songs of Immigration and Migration
• Library of Congress | Voices, Votes, Victory: Presidential Campaign Songs
• Cherokee Nation | Cherokee Voices, Cherokee Sounds
• University of Texas at Arlington | Mexican War Sheet Music Collection