The New Jim Crow Song

As the Jim Crow Museum staff and our design partners work on the exhibitions for the new museum, we sometimes come across items that expand our understanding of the nuances of the Jim Crow system.  

The Jump Jim Crow song was immensely popular during the mid-1800s, with many verses being added. In fact, many of the printed copies had dozens of additional verses. Some mid-1800s song sheets included anywhere from 50 to 150 more verses for the song. As to be expected, these additional verses reiterated the caricatures, characteristics, and stereotypes of Black people. For instance, the use of broken dialect, the reference to Black people as Sambo and the N-word, laziness, violence, stealing, and the like are all present in the verses.  

As interesting as it is to read these additional verses, we came across a far more interesting discovery. An entire Jump Jim Crow-type song was published in 1862, condemning the South, particularly the Southern Christians, for using the Bible to justify slavery. The song, The New Jim Crow Song: About the Darkies and the War addressed some of the common justifications the South had for slavery. For instance: 

A Southern narrative was that Black people could not learn and be educated, and therefore their only lot was to be enslaved. But the song addressed that narrative. 

The dixies say the darkey’s head for learning is not fit;

But they won’t let him try to learn: they fear he has the wit.

Another Southern narrative was that Black people were less than human, animalistic, and therefore had no souls, so enslaving them was no different than owning a horse or a dog. The song challenged the belief. 

If the darkey has no human soul, as we do of’n hear,

The dev’l may get the master, but the darkey will get clear.

Similar to the less-than-human narrative was the implication that Black people were less than a person. The song confronted the narrative and asked why the “not persons” are considered persons when elections are on the line? 

If the darkies are not persons, tell me why, you dixie men.

When you elect for Congress, you make darkies persons then.

The song also addressed the religious claims of the South to justify slavery.  

The dixies pick out scripture to prove that slav’ry’s right,

But they do make a bad mistake—that shows they’r not so bright.

They say because the Bible did once the Jews allow

To get bondsmen of the heathen, that bondage should be now.

Why should dixies not be slaves, if their argument is true,

For who were their ancient fathers? They were heathens too.

Among the heathen were many whites, the Book shows that to me;

If only blacks were bought, that account I’d like to see.

They say de Lord made darkies slaves, for their masters them to teach,

To be enlighten’d Christians—that’s a splendid yarn to preach.

Oh! Wont the slaves be Christ’ans when their teachers love to fight

And swear so hard and gamble, and get so awful “tight.”

They teach amalgamation and chicken-fighting too;

They soon will teach a Bible new—they find the old wont do.

And if in Heav’n they’d find some souls of persons that are black,

They’d call it an abolition place, and soon they’d hurry back.

The song spends a few stanzas addressing the claim that the dark skin of Black people was a sign that they were from the cursed line of Canaan and, therefore, they must be enslaved. 

             The dixies say the darkies are Can’ns black posterity,

And from the curse] of Noah they must be in slavery.

That tale I cannot swallow, when they say the Lord did damn

The darkies into slav’ry, because Noah grow’ld at Ham.

If the darkies came from Canaan, then the argument will go

To prove they came from first rate stock: yes, sirs, you’ll find that’s so.

For look into the hist’ry book, and that will let you know

That mighty, enlightn'd nations did from Canaan grow.

The author(s) of the song are unknown, but it was submitted to the Northern District Court of Ohio in 1862 for copyright protection. This song is just another example of the complexities and nuances of the Civil War and Jim Crow periods and is a fascinating read.