A Federal Case for the Arts “Science and literature are of no
party or nation.”—President John Adams Presidents’ Day just
passed and it got me thinking. Is the idea of government support
for the arts un-American? On the contrary. It is as American as
apple pie. In the early years of the republic, were our
political leaders rubes when it came to music and other arts?
Look again. Our iconic founding fathers Washington, Jefferson,
Franklin, and many of our subsequent presidents had signal
public relationships to music and the arts. Francis Hopkinson,
one of the 56 signatories of the Declaration of Independence,
was the first notable American art music composer, even earlier
than William Billings. According to American music historian
John Tasker Howard, “A study of Hopkinson’s life and writings
shows that music was appreciated and enjoyed by the colonies;
and that the people of that time had access to the best of
contemporary music literature.” Other signers of the Declaration
like Elbridge Gerry and George Clym