“The Kinkaiders”
Description
The singer tells us that the "place I like the best" is "the sand hills, O the sand hills, The place Kinkaiders make their home." He praises the corn, melons, cows, etc., and gives thanks "for the homestead law he made, This noble Moses P. Kinkaid."
Notes
Pound reports, "Moses P. Kinkaid was congressman of the sixth congressional distict [of Nebraska], 1903-1919. He was the introducer of a bill for 640-acre homesteads known as the 'Kinkaid Homestead Law.'"
Also known as the "Kinkaid Home Act," and passed in 1904, the Act applied originally only to unsettled areas of Nebraska, and granted the land in return for five years residence and $800 in improvement. It was extended in 1909.
Given that the song was collected while Kinkaid was still in office, one wonders if this might not be a campaign song. - RBW
Historical references
- 1903-1919 - Term of Congressman Moses P. Kinkaid, who introduced the homestead law which was so widely praised in Nebraska
Cross references
- cf. "O Tannenbaum (Oh Christmas Tree)" (tune) and references there
References
- Sandburg, pp. 278-279, "The Kinkaiders" (1 text, 1 tune)
- LPound-ABS, 85, p. 184, "The Kinkaiders" (1 text)
- Roud #4982
- BI, San278