Protest songs in the United States

Protest songs in the United States are a tradition that dates back to the early 18th century and have persisted and evolved as an aspect of American culture through the present day. Many American social movements have inspired protest songs spanning a variety of musical genres including but not limited to rap, folk, rock, and pop music. Though early 18th century songs stemmed from the American colonial period as well as in response to the Revolutionary war, protest songs have and continue to cover a wide variety of subjects. Protest songs typically serve to address some social, political, or economic concern through the means of musical composition.^[1] In the 19th century, American protest songs focused heavily on topics including slavery, poverty, and the Civil War while the 20th century saw an increased popularity in songs pertaining to women's rights, economic injustice, and politics/ war.^[2] In the 21st century, popular protest songs address police brutality, racism, and more.^[3]

^ Peddie, Ian, ed. (2017). The Resisting Muse: Popular Music and Social Protest. pp. xvi-1. doi:10.4324/9781351218061. ISBN 978-1-351-21806-1.
^ Raussert, Wilfried (2019). Kaltmeier, Olaf (ed.). Sonic Politics. doi:10.4324/9780429423932. ISBN 978-0-429-42393-2. S2CID 191738812.^{[page needed]}
^ Loss, Robert (December 2, 2017). Nothing Has Been Done Before: Seeking the New in 21st-Century American Popular Music. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN 978-1-5013-2204-4.

[1] Peddie, Ian, ed. (2017). The Resisting Muse: Popular Music and Social Protest. pp. xvi-1. doi:10.4324/9781351218061. ISBN 978-1-351-21806-1.

[2] Raussert, Wilfried (2019). Kaltmeier, Olaf (ed.). Sonic Politics. doi:10.4324/9780429423932. ISBN 978-0-429-42393-2. S2CID 191738812.^{[page needed]}

[3] Loss, Robert (December 2, 2017). Nothing Has Been Done Before: Seeking the New in 21st-Century American Popular Music. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN 978-1-5013-2204-4.

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