At the beginning of World War II, young Americans relied both on patriotically-fueled hope and personal, often religious, faith to keep spirits high. American culture at that time was filled with stories and songs evoking patriotism and nationalism. During the

Photograph by Bailey Slusher. Front cover with creases and distress that clearly show the age of the book. Songs of America by Hugo Frey. New York: Robbins Music Corporation, 1941. Held in the W.S. Hoole Special Collections Library, The University of Alabama.

war, boosting morale was just as important for Americans at home as it was for soldiers on the battlefields of Europe. The United States’ morale-raising efforts included tracts, songbooks, sheet music and recordings of patriotic songs by popular singers, to name a few.  “Songs For America”, a songbook published in 1941, offered a considerable array of songs that portrayed America’s greatness in terms both of nationalism and cultural diversity. This songbook intended to kindle patriotism high during wartime to help the American people remain positive during the tough times to come. “Songs For America” includes a wide variety of songs that gives an insight into attitudes and occurrences on the home front at the time the book was published.

The publisher of “Songs For America”, Robbins Music Corporation in New York, selected a variety of songs from their own archives, past and contemporary, composed by a wide variety of people of different styles. It was created to portray the greatness of America through patriotic songs while portraying various American folk traditions. These books were intended for “schools, assemblies, music groups, homes, and social groups” as the publisher described inside the front cover. This dedication was critical to include because it, along with the other mass-produced books published by the same company, was meant for mass sale and intended for various crowds. While “Songs for America” was meant for mass sale, we believe this one in particular is a personal copy because of the notes and small annotations throughout it. Seeming to be in good condition, the book appears to have been preserved well as it survived over the years. It totaled up to contain 103 pages within, discounting the page that had been ripped out at the very beginning. Each page was wrinkled from apparent water damage, showing the wear and tear it had experienced over the years.