Nationalism in United States Music Education during World War II

In the early decades of the twentieth century, educators in the United States were not concerned with promoting musical nationalism through their teaching, in contrast with many of their European contemporaries. Rather, they wished cultivate the taste and expand the international perspectives of their students. They sought immerse them in the musical works of European master composers on the basis of their belief that exposure and involvement in music, a morally elevated art, would have liberating and elevating effects. Influential educator James Mursell (and others) wrote rhapsodically and at length about the value of in education, asserting that music, in its essence, expresses and embodies emotion, and that students could find personal happiness through the self-fulfillment that stems from musical involvement. (1) Simultaneously, many educators sought broaden their students' international perspectives by introducing them the music of many lands and peoples, and the profession's leaders held that an important aim of their work was enable children to know, love, and appreciate in as many forms as possible. (2) However, after the German invasion of Poland in September 1939, which began World War II in Europe, the focus on as an art and orientations toward musical internationalism began lose their centrality in public school education in the United States. Music educators' fears caused them regard their teaching in a very different way. Realizing that they could play an important role in the growing crisis, they largely set aside their artistic goals, refocusing their instruction and selecting for the purposes of contributing the nation's solidarity and bolstering the morale of the nation's populace. This change in their orientation did not stem from a highly debated philosophical or theoretical shift within the profession, but rather emerged gradually as citizens became increasingly distraught over the war in Europe and fearful that they might be engaged in it. (3) Responding the War in Europe Throughout the late 1930s, the American public was largely pacifist and disinclined give attention the expansionist efforts of the growing totalitarian regimes in Germany, Italy, and Japan. Some citizens believed the causes of the Great Depression could be traced back the nation's involvement in World War I, and they felt that staying clear of all foreign problems was the way future security. President Franklin D. Roosevelt said nothing at all about foreign relations in his second inaugural address in 1937. But when France fell the German and Italian armies on May 10, 1940, and only Great Britain stood between Nazi Germany and the United States, the strong pacifism and comfortable isolationism of the American public began be shaken. When the President addressed a joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives on May 16, 1940, his frustration with the isolationist stance of the citizenry and the Congress became evident as he spoke of the growing European threat. He said: Let us measure our strength and our defense without self-delusion. The clear fact is that the American people must recast their thinking about national protection. (4) Roosevelt's impassioned speech finally convinced the reluctant Congress appropriate $2.5 billion for military equipment and installations. On September 6th, he took the additional step of signing into law the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, creating the country's first peacetime military draft. At the same time, the United States government began efforts raise citizens' awareness of the importance of national unity and foster concern about the nation's common welfare via broadcasts and publications; phrases such as sustain morale, mobilize pride and faith, enliven hope and devotion, strengthen loyalty, and develop a sense of belonging began be used in print and on the radio by the Office of National Defense and other agencies, as they sought raise public awareness of the threat of war. …

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