Retrospection, Victor G. Schreck, c. 1902. Library of Congress. https://lccn.loc.gov/2006687460

Music has long been considered a language that crosses class, ethnic and color lines. The banjo is likely the offspring of traditional African and European instruments and seen mainly in the South until after 1840. By the time of the Civil War, blackface minstrels had put the instruments on stages around the country. The instrument evolved into the Industrial Age, sporting a drumhead rather than a traditional gourd for a body, adding frets and getting incorporated into popular new music like ragtime, jazz, and bluegrass. It was a staple in the folk music revival during the 1930s and 1960s and is a valued sound in many Celtic bands.