The songs and spirituals of the American Negro are recognized as unique and valuable contributions to the world. What few people have known, however, is that the Negro spirituals and songs of the antebellum South were more than simply musical expression. They were, in Dr. Fisher's words, the "oral historical documents" of a people. As decoded by Dr. Fisher, the spirituals reveal data respecting their authors, their dates, their places of origin, their plans for escape, and their protests against slavery.