Music for the Nation: American Sheet Music, ca. 1820-1860, provides access to sheet music copyrighted between the years of 1820-1860. Included are popular songs, operatic arias, piano music, sacred and secular vocal music, solo instrumental music, method books and instructional materials, and some music for band and orchestra. Some of the more notable titles include "Susanna" and "Jeannie with the Light Brown Hair".

You may go directly to the collection, Music for the Nation: American Sheet Music, ca. 1820-1860, in American Memory.

These online exhibits provide context and additional information about this collection.

Greatest Hits, 1820-60 (Variety Music Cavalcade)
Music Copyrighted in Federal District Courts, ca. 1820-1860

These historical era(s) are best represented in the collection, although they may not be all-encompassing.

Expansion and Reform — 1801-1861

These collections and exhibits contain thematically-related primary and secondary sources. Browse the Collection Finder for more related material on the American Memory Web site.

America Singing: Nineteenth-Century Song Sheets
Band Music from the Civil War Era
Historic American Sheet Music, 1850-1920
Music for the Nation: American Sheet Music 1870-1885
"We'll Sing to Abe Our Song!": Sheet Music about Lincoln, Emancipation, and the Civil War from the Alfred Whital Stern Collection of Lincolniana

Recommended additional sources of information.

Selected Bibliography
Read More About It! - A bibliography

Specific guidance for searching this collection.

Search the collection using the keyword search, or browse the Author, Subject or Title indexes. For help with search words, go to the Synonym List.

For help with search strategies, see Finding Items in American Memory.

For help with viewers and players, go to American Memory Viewer Information.