Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Poet Julia Ward Howe wrote the famous lyrics to the "Battle Hymn of the Republic." This July 4, America will celebrate its ...

It was sung at Ronald Reagan's funeral, and adopted with new lyrics by labor radicals. John Updike quoted it in the title of one of his novels, and George W. Bush had it performed at the memorial ...

Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!, voices cry out against a steadily marching beat and victorious trumpet blasts. It is the swelling sound of the “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” a timeless song that inspires ...

It is my belief that a single melody can carry an undeniable purpose even before being paired with a lyric. I suppose that is why “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” the patriotic standard whose lyrics ...

Only Slate Plus members can gift Slate stories. Become a member to share 10 free articles a month. To end a holiday concert at Montréal’s symphony hall earlier this month, superstar conductor and five ...

In November 1861, the poet Julia Ward Howe took the melody of the abolitionist singalong “John Brown’s Body” and added a new set of lyrics meant to inspire the Union to righteous victory. The editors ...

Julia Ward Howe wrote a rousing anthem for the Union in the Civil War. Since then, it's been caught in a cultural tug-of-war over who it's an anthem for — social conservatives, evangelical Christians, ...