Slave Songs of the United States (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781565545939)

Born in Northborough, Massachusetts, on September 5, 1830, William Francis Allen was the son of a Unitarian minister. After graduating from Harvard College in 1851, he left America in 1854 to study in Europe at G^ttingen, Berlin, and Rome. He finally returned to Boston in 1856. Under the employment of the Freedmens Aid Commission, Allen began to work on St. Helena Island in South Carolina in November 1863. Four years later, in 1867, Allen was appointed chair of ancient languages and history at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. He later changed his position at this university to chair of Latin language and Roman history. During his tenure, he pioneered a new way of teaching history. His method used a topical system of study and reading of original sources. Allen was a prolific writer. His contributions to classical literature chiefly consist of schoolbooks. The Slave Songs of the United States (pb[fb]) provides directions for singing and musical scores to accurately preserve the original intonations and rhythms of slave songs. Also discussed are the intricacies of the language and variations of pronunciation. In preserving these songs, the authors were preserving an integral part of the nationís history. William Francis Allen died on December 9, 1889.