This makes me wonder if the 1940s saying “don’t be a square,” which referred to a rigid conformist who wasn’t into jazz, was inspired by square dancing.
Haha, I went to Catholic school and I thought it was so weird that we had to learn square dancing in 2003 (I was in grade 3).
It was even weirder when I learned in high school that it wasn’t just my school, this was like a widespread thing! But I guess there’s weird history there. TIL.
Jokes on you Ford I learned how to play jazz in school
Plus the acronym to teach key signatures was Ford cars get dropped at very bump, or something
Holy shit.
To understand how square dancing became a state-mandated means of celebrating Americana, it’s necessary to go back to Henry Ford, the founder of Ford Motor Vehicles. Ford hated jazz; he hated the Charleston. He also really hated Jewish people, and believed that Jewish people invented jazz as part of a nefarious plot to corrupt the masses and take over the world—a theory that might come as a surprise to the black people who actually did invent it.
More quotes in the article:
https://qz.com/1153516/americas-wholesome-square-dancing-tradition-is-a-tool-of-white-supremacy
More detail, references, and discussion here:
Source?