American Document

American Document is a modern dance work choreographed by Martha Graham in response to rising Fascism in 1930s Europe. The piece premiered on August 6, 1938 at the Vermont State Armory in Bennington, Vermont. The ballet features spoken word excerpts from the Declaration of Independence and Emancipation Proclamation, among other texts. The set was created by Arch Lauterer; the costumes were designed by Edythe Gilfond. The original music was written by Ray Green. Graham extensively reworked the choreography in 1989. John Corigliano's Oboe Concerto replaced Green's music for the revised version.

The idea for the ballet came to Graham as she listened to the Axis nations' "vicious and terrifying" propaganda on the radio. It occurred to her that American democracy had a repository of words with "the power to hearten men and move them to action."

The original program notes state," Our documents are our legends - our poignantly near history - our folk tales." The notes also include the quotations from historical documents and figures that are spoken throughout the performance. The text is excerpted from The Declaration of Independence, Song of Songs, Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and Second Inaugural Address, the Emancipation Proclamation and the writings, speeches or sermons of Jonathan Edwards, Thomas Paine, John Wise, Francis Fergusson and Red Jacket, the Seneca orator.

Both set and costumes subtly used a red, white and blue motif.

The ballet is patterned after a minstrel show, although Graham was careful to avoid degrading racial stereotypes. Green's original music was scored for piano and drums. It borrowed from American and African folk tunes and incorporated the fanfares and drum rolls characteristic of minstrel shows. The characters and structure are also derived from minstrelsy.

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