Music from the Pre-Civil war period (early 1800s) was divided into two main types: white music and black music. White music consisted of mostly classical and minstrel music. Black music was mostly religious music; however, there were also some secular black songs. Classical music was heavily influenced by European Composers, and would often be played for wealthy, white people. Minstrel music was played for common people and included blackface, where white people would pretend to be black people and try to influence people's views on slavery and convince them that it wasn't so bad and that slaves were often content. Minstrel music was to influence people's opinions on slavery and convince them that it was a good thing and not a bad thing, while
