Whitewashing Blackface and Whistling Dixie : The Commemoration of Dan EmmettMain MenuAbout the AuthorAbout the AuthorIntroduction: Birth of a ProjectPart 1: Understanding Dan EmmettPart I: Understanding Dan EmmettPart 2: Preserving Dan Emmett's Memory, 1895-1935Covers early efforts to commemorate Dan Emmett and Dixie by Mount Vernon locals and southern Confederate heritage groupsPart 3: "A Way of Life In Knox County": Constructing Civic Identity around Dan Emmett and DixieExplores Mount Vernon commemoration of Emmett from the 1940s through the 1970sPart 4: Debating and Defending the Legacy of Dan EmmettExplores the commemoration of Emmett--and challenges to it--in last forty years, as both Dixie and blackface minstrelsy have become clearer symbols of racismEpilogue: Coming Back into HistoryEpilogueMapping Emmett Commemoration in Mount VernonThis map shows the different sites where Dan Emmett and "Dixie" have been commemorated in Mount Vernon, from the early 20th century through today. It includes physical memorials, museums, and streets, schools, and businesses named in honor of EmmettSourcesRenee Romano5fe3dd89d8626712516f143a0d2836783a834539Renee Romano
Dan Emmett, "Mac, Will Win the Union Back"
12020-11-13T17:27:31+00:00Renee Romano5fe3dd89d8626712516f143a0d2836783a83453912Cover for sheet music of Mac, will Win the Union Back by Daniel Decatur Emmettplain2020-11-13T17:28:04+00:00Library of Congress, Music Division, Civil War Sheet Music CollectionSheet MusicEmmett, Dan (composer); Hall, A. Oakley (Arranger)1864Wm. Hall and SonPublic Domainimage/jpgNew YorkRenee Romano5fe3dd89d8626712516f143a0d2836783a834539
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12020-11-13T17:20:28+00:00A Wartime Democrat8Explains the position of Democrats like Emmett during the Civil Warplain2022-02-15T15:43:05+00:00Dan Emmett was pro-Union, but he was not a supporter of Abraham Lincoln's Republican Party. Like many other blackface minstrel performers, Dan Emmett was a pro-Union Democrat. During the Civil War, Democrats advocated for settling with the South in order to preserve the Union and they argued that there was no need to abolish slavery in order to end the war. In 1864, Emmett supported the presidential bid of General George McClellan who ran against Lincoln. McClellan called for the restoration of the Union without the abolition of slavery, which he saw as protected by the Constitution. Emmett’s 1864 song, “Mac, will Win the Union Back,” was written in support of his campaign:
"So cry hurrah, hurrah for little Mac For he's the boy to win the Union back, And sail the ship of state on safer track. Hurrah, Hurrah for little Mac."
