Final answer:
Immigrants sang traditional songs to preserve their heritage, express emotions, and find comfort amidst the challenges of assimilation in a new country. Enslaved individuals used music as an emotional outlet and resistance, exemplified by spirituals like "Go Down Moses" that signaled hope and the pursuit of freedom.
Step-by-step explanation:
The purpose of immigrants singing traditional songs from their homeland after they migrated was multifaceted. Immigrant communities served as a safe haven where they could maintain their language, customs, and culture in a new, often challenging environment.
Singing traditional songs was a way for immigrants to remember their homeland, preserve their heritage, and express the complex emotions associated with their experiences. Similarly, music and singing held significant importance for enslaved people, functioning as an emotional outlet, a form of resistance, and a means of communication.
For example, spirituals like "Go Down Moses" played a major role in the hopeful message and actions towards freedom. In the harsh realities of adjusting, whether it was the sorrow voiced by the enslaved or the immigrants' struggles with assimilation, music was a powerful connector to their past and a comfort in the present.