Jazz Music Essay

The history of Jazz music is one that is tied to enslavement, and prejudices. It Is impossible to separate the development of Jazz music from the racial oppression that occurred in the United States as they are inextricably connected. Slavery was a part of our country’s development that is shameful and yet, lead to some of the greatest musical advances of the twentieth century.

Slavery in the United States first began in 1619 when Dutch traders seized a captured Spanish slave ship and brought those aboard to the North American colony of Jamestown, Virginia. When the North American continent was first colonized by Europeans, the vast land proved to be more work than they had anticipated and there was a severe shortage of labor. Land owners needed a solution for cheap and plentiful labor to help with the production of lucrative crops such as tobacco and rice. Although many land owners already made use of indentured servants- poor youth from Britain and Germany who sought passage to America and would be contracted to work a given number of years before they were granted freedom- they soon realized that in order to continue expansion they would need to employ more labor. This meant bringing more people over from Africa against their own will, depriving the African content of its healthiest and most capable men and women. Since individuals with African origins were not English by birth, they were considered foreigners and outside English Common Law and were not granted equal rights. Many slave owners intended to make their slaves completely dependent on them and prohibited them from learning to read or write. The oppression of black slaves was on the rise and many sources estimate that nearly twelve million slaves were brought to the ...

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...akeasies. These clubs allowed whites and blacks to socialize for the first time and attracted young audiences from all social classes who were drawn to the music and the seemingly suggestive jazz dances. According to Ann Shaw Faulkner, president of the General Federation of Women's Clubs, "Jazz was originally the accompaniment of the voodoo dance, stimulating half-crazed barbarians to the vilest of deeds." This statement reveals how many were against the popularity of these art forms and the activities that came with them.

The evolution of dance styles during the 1920’s was influenced heavily by the music craze and the introduction of electric lighting made dancing late into the night possible. The end of restrictive clothing of the Victorian era was over and the new style was quite free and flowing making it easier to dance to the exciting melodies being created.