To Everything There Is A Season Analysis

In the book “To Everything There is a Season”: Pete Seeger and the Power of Song,

author Allan M. Winkler explained the struggles of politicians and entertainers of the time. Pete

Seeger, the main character in the book, lives through the notorious jazz age and the Great

Depression, World War II as well as the Civil Rights Movement. Winkler gives the reader

insight on Pete Seeger’s life as well as other well-known people of the time like Dr. Martin

Luther King Jr. and Lead Belly, among other musicians/ entertainers. The reader learns of how

Pete fell in love with the art of folk music and performing his music to unite people in song. The

reader is also able to understand why Seeger was put on trial for his political views and

involvement in politics. Pete was not the

type to sit in class, he wanted to go out into the world

and do something to make a difference. He became involved in the Young Communist League of

the time, while at Harvard. Pete decided to leave Harvard, where he was studying to be a

journalist, after his sophomore year. Upon leaving Harvard, Seeger became eager to use his

journalism skills to write over public affairs. Through his love for folk music, Seeger met many

people in the entertainment and political scenes. During his political/ music career, Seeger fell in

love and married Toshi Ohta and later the two had three children. Although being charged with

being a communist and working against the United States government, Pete traveled the world

living out his dream and bringing music that warmed so many people’s hearts.

Throughout the book, Winkler tells the reader about Pete Seeger’s involvement in the

Young Communist league and how he was part of the union. This leads up to Seeger being

charged with “ten counts of contempt of Congress” (Winkler 81). The United States government

was interviewing many people who they had suspicions of plotting against the government.

Seeger unfortunately was one of these people who had to go to court and be put on trial. His

friends and fans raised money for him to be released from jail on bond after he was indicted for

contempt of Congress. Seeger said that “being indicted just gave me a lot of free publicity”

(Winkler 82). From the reader’s point of view, the government became overly suspicious of

many during this time and did not trust what the accused people, like Seeger, said about what

they were being charged for. The reason being for this suspicion was the second Red Scare that

happened during this time. The Red Scare was fear that of the United States government

and

citizens had about the threat or rise of communism in America. The government was also not

very fair in their rulings on if the prosecuted were guilty or not guilty. Pete had told the jury

during his trial that he “never in [his] life said or supported or done anything in any way

subversive to [his] country,” and they still stuck to their prior beliefs that he was guilty, like they

did to so many others who were put on trial for the same crime (Winkler 85). Pete had also

believed that the jury had their own personal issues with him that most likely affected their

judgement in charging him with contempt of Congress. He conveys this belief by saying “the

House committee wanted to pillory me because it didn’t like some few of the many thousands of

places I have sung” (Winkler 85). When asked question during the trial, Pete used the Fifth

Amendment as to not give the wrong answer. Although the jury was not supposed to use this

against him, the reader can infer that they did not stick to that because of their final answer.

Through analyzing the book the reader finds that Pete Seeger seemed to be one of the

many other American’s that just wanted to make a place for themselves in the United States. Pete

had even confessed, during the Civil Rights movement, that he did not know what to do if he was

no longer needed or was not involved in anything. Through this all Seeger “had faith in his

music, and its power to promote change” (Winkler 107). The reader can conclude that without

his music and without being involved in the many political movements that occurred during his

lifetime, Seeger would have been lonely and most likely depressed. The reader might infer that

Seeger seemed to thrive in the hard times that he endured because he felt a part of something

bigger than just himself. Throughout the time period of the book, America endured many

changes to her economy and the overall country as a whole. The jazz age, in which Pete Seeger

was born, brought the issue of Prohibition and the age of the flapper. This was a time when

America was at a high after the First World War. The Great Depression, starting on October 24,

1929, was one of the lowest times in America’s history. The stock market crashed and people

were struggling to get by in day- to-day life. This time in history hit, the people who lived

lavishly during the roaring 20’s, very hard and brought about a generation of children who saved

their money when it was over in fear of the horrific event happening again. When the Second

World War started, it brought a new start for many Americans with the influx of jobs to keep up

with the demand for war materials. This was a time when people were able to be happy again

and many joined in songs about politics like Allan M. Winkler writes about in his book. The war

brought the entire country together as they rallied under the president of the time, Franklin

Roosevelt, as he rebuilt the country under his New Deal plan. The New Deal was to help with

industry recovery, agricultural recovery, and emergency relief for the homeless. This plan was

carried out throughout the war with the high demands that it brought. The many changes and

improvements that Roosevelt made during this time left a lasting impact on American society

and her government.