Nursery Rhymes and Mother Goose Overview

The first written form of children’s literature came from the nursery rhymes in Mother Goose’s Melodies. This was a compilation of formerly oral stories for children. These stories were meant to teach kids lessons about everyday life and to, of course, entertain them and the whole family. Mother Goose was mainly the fictitious compiler of all these stories but she was also a main character in many of the stories. There is a difference between Mother Goose in England and Mother Goose in the American colonies. Mother Goose in England was original nursery rhymes compiled in England and written in England. But, although many of these nursery rhymes were in fact brought over to the states the Mother Goose books made in the United States were from nursery rhymes originally made in the colonies instead of ones taken from the English. It is thought that Mother Goose is either a group of poets who decided to use a name to compile all their children stories into one easy book. Others think that mother goose was one person. It’s possible that mother goose could have been Elizabeth Foster Goose who lived in Boston and was the wife of Isaac Goose. Regardless of who actually wrote those nursery rhymes they had an incredible effect on the upbringing of colonial children. Children read these nursery rhymes and learned moral and educational things about life. They were presented in a manner that was easy to understand but at the same time taught the consequences of certain wrong doings.

Minstrel Shows

Minstrel Shows was a late development in the entertainment industry of the colonists but it is clearly the first organized theatrical activity of the colonists, that’s why it is so important. Minstrel Shows nowadays have a bad reputation since the majority of people assume that all they did was racist satire. They did many other things other than the few racist jokes they threw in here and there. They performed skits,dances, songs , and various other artistic expression. The reason there is controversy around Minstrel Shows is simply because the actors and singers were in blackface. Blackface was the style of dressing up and coloring one’s skin to make yourself look like an African American. At this time people were still owning slaves and had plantations. African American’s were considered to be inferior and the Whites made this into a joke. Weirdly enough, after the Civil War people who acted in Minstrel Shows were African American’s themselves. Minstrelsy minus the racism was a very fun time and obviously as African Americans began to gain rights Minstrelsy lost a lot of popularity but, it continued all the way up until the 1960’s where amateurs did small Minstrel Shows in High Schools and small stages. At the time Minstrel Shows were great fun but it’s a shame that those who were most talented in the arts at that time used it for such a controversial thing. The legacy that Minstrel Shows leaves is of course both good and bad. It was the start of American plays, concerts, and comedy shows. Unfortunately , the main thing that Minstrel Shows contributed to America is the racism. African American stereotypes that are still incredibly relevant today originated in the jokes of the actors in Minstrel Shows. At that time it was simply trying to entertain but nowadays the effects of the jokes are still reflected in the hate that many people have for different races.

List

-Native Culture

-Colonial Toys

-Oral Tradition: Whites/Natives

-Hunting/Sports

-Nursery Rhymes

-Minstrel Shows

-Slave Culture/ Indenture Servants

-Upper Class Literature Vs. Lower Class Literature

-Music

-Relationships/Marriage/Sex/Prostitution

-Alcohol/Drugs

Four out of Four: Poetry

Like many forms of art during the colonial times the colonists initially followed the British style of poetry. From there some of the greatest poetry of all time was created. An interest in poetry among the colonists greatly increased when they took notice of the huge oral tradition the Native Americans passed down , this inspired them to write their own stuff. Much of the poetry created during this time was political and influential since the basis of the government was still being developed. Many “everyday figures” in the colonial times wrote poetry to express feelings or just to write about every day life. For example Captain John Smith had many poems that are still around today. These works showed clearly their feelings about this new land. They talked about everything from the varying weather to the actions of the Native people. From this the more artistic people took over and began creating incredible artistic poetic works. These are the ones that are around and loved today. As boring as it may seem to us now the colonial people enjoyed expressing their feelings and observations in the form of poetry.

Three out of Four : Painting

Since American during the seventeen and eighteen hundreds was still a developing nation they had many political leaders coming up looking for a shot at shared power. And with this comes the need for portrait painters so represent these important people in paintings. Looking at paintings done throughout colonial times is a great representation of the feelings of the colonists and also gives us a look at what our leaders looked like. As painters became more and more comfortable with the land and became feeling more like Americans rather than simply immigrants in a strange land. Also as monumental events changed history paintings became on of the favored ways of representing these things. Painting was in that time a way for people to express themselves and although many more talented painters were paid to paint important people the vast majority of people who were painting were doing it simply out of enjoyment and trying to represent their surroundings visually. Those who were good enough to be hired to paint generally painted not from what they say but from what the person hiring them wanted them to see. It is clear that paintings of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson and various other people of high stature had their paintings made to make them look like attractive, successful, and important men, while painters who did it for shear enjoyment took the real aspect of life and thats a true representation of American life. A few paintings were recovered from a house maintained from the 1850’s. These pictures were not necessarily professionally done but there mere beauty of the simplicity of them has had people put them on display in over three major museums. This shows that even though he was only painting for his own enjoyment he captured the true essence of American land and nature. In conclusion, painting was yet another way that colonists expressed themselves and it provided the bored colonists with something to do after long ours of working on the farm or doing various other odd jobs.

Two of Four: Weaving

Weaving

During the start of the forming of the United States the colonists relied heavily on the trade from Britain to provide them with clothes and cloth. When trade from Britain was restricted they began to need to learn to weave and eventually it became a profession and many people did it for pleasure and to provide their family and friends with clothing. They made recipes for dyes which interestingly enough were all safe to drink since they were made from all natural ingredients. Weaving was mainly done in groups in a large weaving house or a factory. Although this production started with a need for clothes it became many people’s leisure activity which was helpful since obviously they needed clothing since there was no trade. Most people made clothing using a loom and they learned how to use a loom through the apprentice-master system. This is where someone who knows how to weave or do another trade teaches a small child or a group of children. Weavers had to know how to use a loom, how to prepare it, and how to maintain it. Apprentices would go and watch a weaver work day in and day out. It was a way of learning a profession immediately instead of going to school and deciding what you wanted to do with your life.Weaving for important for colonists on many levels. First off, the trade with England being cut off forced them to be more independent and from this many people found something that they loved doing and it became a loved profession and a loved hobby.

One of Four: Colonial Music

There is very clearly a shortage of American written colonial music but many music was taken from England and given significant new importance in the United States. These pieces came mainly from England, Scotland,Ireland,Africa, Germany,Italy, and France. These songs had many purposes for example : “Over The Hills and Far Away” was a theatre song, a recruiting song, a dancing song, and a military march. Instruments were widely used throughout all ages,classes, and genders of the colonists. Everyone owned a fiddle or a violin from Thomas Jefferson to his slaves and servants. Of course, this is the 18th century so musical options for women were not as open whatsoever. Wealthy women could have a harpsichord to play for their family while less fortunate women would have a guitar like instrument for pleasure strumming with their poor children.These instruments were invented during the Renaissance and of course brought over to the Americas. Operas that were performed in London and other areas in Europe were often taken and used in the colonists to reenact and to sing around campfires and other such things. Another widely used form of music was music sung in church. People sung Psalms and Hymns to known tunes to help with worship which was of course a huge part of the colonist’s lives. Lastly music was very important in a military sense. Musicians were hired to keep beats and keep morale up during parades and during the March to battle. Music was very important to the unity of families and also had many daily uses regardless of the fact that they had not started making original music yet.