I'm putting together a program for children, that I will take into their classrooms. I'm looking for old songs that have great historical significance. This would be for US History. Examples are: Abolitionist's song, Civil War Songs, folk snogs that would have been popular in Colonial USA, songs about the 1849 California Gold Rush, songs about Native Americans, etc. I need about fifty songs for kids age eight to fourteen. I hope to have program of about five weeks that I could do in period costume. I especially enjoy tying the history of the song into US history. Examples would be the Potatoe Famine in Ireland, and the mass exodus to the US that resulted from it. A story about the Potatoe famine would be great!! The idea is to show kids that songs are historical oral artifacts that they can "bring back to life" to better understand their ancestry. Ultimately, the idea is to show the US as the "great meltin pot" of cultures. I'm Irish, English, French, Spanish, Welsh, Scottish, Algonquin, and Cherokee. So, about anything works for me.

Thanks!!!!!!