Glory Glory

The Battle Hymn of the Republic has been utilized by men of all minds and opinions as a rhetorical device to sway the hearts of the masses. Preachers preach it.  Martin Luther King recites it alongside his case for non-violence. It gave Steinbeck a title. Labor morphed it into a rally chant. But what I find to be the most deplorable use of the melody appears in the movie American History X. I will not reproduce it here, but it was written by one Johnny Rebel and he calls it "The White Man Marches On." It essentially calls for a massacre of the black, jewish, and oriental people. But what I want to draw attention to is that the Battle Hymn derived itself from a song called "John Brown's Body". It was a popular song with the Union Troops in praise of the abolitionist John Brown.

At first glance, I found it to be funny that this ignorant and hateful songs origins lies in a anthem in praise of its antithesis. John Brown is famous for his raid on Harper's Ferry, predating the Civil War and cited as one of the, amongst many, catalyst of the Civil War--or as the south refers to it, the War of Northern Aggression. Brown's folk legend comes with baggage though, as his attack lead to a conviction of treason. I believe this fellow Johnny Rebel, though unintentionally, created a rather astute commentary on the extremism of the ignorant-- the passionate folk who demand action rather than thought. Compare his contemporary abolitionist Frederick Douglass--who had the larger impact on the movement?  Douglass provides a case for his sentiments. His account of his own slavery needs not a treatise--those who read his Narrative see the plight of slavery intuitively. But Brown was a white man who was never in the bonds of slavery. He was a foreigner to the movement and to Virginia (which included Harper's Ferry). Is John Brown an American Hero or a man of Treason?

This also brings up a discussion I had with friends a while back, trying to define the American folk virtues. Brown is immortalized is song along with other men of questionable character and of low deeds: Tom Dooley, Stagolee, Hollis Brown. Folk songs tells us that we ought a buck up a find new love, when those we do love are gone: Clementine, Casey Jones. What does the American Folk repertoire reveal about the virtue of the American character?