Ragtime: A Reflection Of American Culture

When the United States was founded in 1776, it was a nation of Christian individuals. According to One Nation Under God: Religion in Contemporary American Society; “In 1776, every European American, with the exception of about 2,500 Jews, identified himself or herself as a Christian. Moreover, approximately 98 percent of the colonists were Protestants, with the remaining 1.9 percent being Roman Catholics (Kosmin&Lachman).” Although America was never established as an officially Christian nation, it is plain to see that the founding fathers and inhabitants intended for America to follow a code of morality found along the lines of the Bible. Looking at America 200 years later, its people and their culture are not where they started. According
As Americans were seeking to develop a culture strictly of their own, away from the British influence, ragtime style music entered the scene. Ragtime was a uniquely American style of music to reflect the growing patriotism of the culture. In 1897 ragtime was popularized by composers such as Scott Joplin, James Scott, and Joseph Lamb, bringing about a marked end to music influenced by the British. It was around this time when American culture was expanding and evolving at a rapid rate. Cultural expansion led way to flappers as well as rampant alcoholism. Flappers were women who promoted sexually promiscuous clothing and were a reflection of American culture beginning to loosen the reigns on morality. Americans were beginning to realize who they were as individuals. As a result, they began to branch out in new ways. In the early 1900’s, country, western, and riverboat music had its inception. These new genres of music defined the personal lives and culture in America. By the 1920’s, America’s culture had a greater sense of freedom and expression reflected in their
Secular humanism is the number one belief held by the popular media. Instead of freedom of religion, there are organizations seeking freedom from religion. Prayer is no longer allowed in schools, and if someone is a Christian, they are now considered a minority. Music from the present time is the antithesis of the music that started our nation. Lyrics today are filled with profanity and the “clean” versions of some songs by popular artists could more accurately be named an “instrumental” version. Beyond the actual profanities, the overall message of today’s popular songs has shifted even further away from God. The majority of music is now centered around sex in a way that sex outside of marriage is not only accepted, but it is glorified. Women are objectified in many modern songs and are not described how one should describe a person created in the image of God. Americans have shifted away from God and their culture has followed suit. This shift in ideology has created the demand for songs with content that is being produced today. If the culture did not demand it, the music would not be