<Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> <P> "Dixie," also known as "Dixie's Land," "I Wish I Was in Dixie," and other titles, is a popular American song . It is one of the most distinctively American musical products of the 19th century, and probably the best - known song to have come out of blackface minstrelsy . Although not a folk song at its creation, "Dixie" has since entered the American folk vernacular . The song likely cemented the word "Dixie" in the American vocabulary as a toponym for the Southern United States . </P> <P> Although most sources credit Ohio - born Daniel Decatur Emmett with the song's composition, other people have claimed to have composed "Dixie," even during Emmett's lifetime . Compounding the problem of definitively establishing the song's authorship are Emmett's own confused accounts of its writing, and his tardiness in registering the song's copyright . The latest challenge has come on behalf of the Snowden Family of Knox County, Ohio, who may have collaborated with Emmett to write "Dixie ." </P> <P> The song originated in the blackface minstrel shows of the 1850s and quickly became popular across the United States . During the American Civil War, "Dixie" was adopted as a de facto anthem of the Confederacy . New versions appeared at this time that more explicitly tied the song to the events of the Civil War . Since the advent of the Civil Rights Movement, many have identified the lyrics of the song with the iconography and ideology of the Old South . Today, "Dixie" is sometimes considered offensive, and its critics liken the act of singing it to sympathy for slavery or racial separation in the American South . Its supporters, on the other hand, view it as a legitimate aspect of Southern culture, the fight for states rights and freedom from big government, and heritage . The song was a favorite of President Abraham Lincoln; he had it played at some of his political rallies and at the announcement of General Robert E. Lee's surrender . </P>

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