Timeline of Music in The United States To 1819 - 1798

1798

• William Smith and William Little successfully copyright a shape note system that would become the standard in the 19th century.
• The first complete work to be copyrighted is a pair of ballads, "Ellen Arise: A Ballad" and "The Little Sailor Boy: A Ballad", both by Benjamin Carr.
• The first governmental subsidy for music comes in the form of the United States Marine Band, led by Drum Major William Farr; this is the first military musical establishment in the United States.
• The first political campaign song is "Adams and Liberty", set to the tune of "To Anacreon in Heaven", by Robert Treat Paine.
• The song "Hail, Columbia", set to the music of "The President's March", is published, with the intent of "arousing the American spirit"; it becomes one of the most popular and long-lasting patriotic songs in the country.
• The New Jersey Immorality Act bans "dancing, singing, fiddling, or other music for the sake of merriment".