Americans had breached the Appalachian mountain chain and pushed into the wide open areas of the far west. Thus, songs such as "My Country, 'Tis of Thee," composed in 1831, have as themes natural wonder combined with freedom and liberty. Others, such as "America the Beautiful," express appreciation for the natural beauty of the United States and the hope for a better nation, wrote one hymn editor. However, in contrast to "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" and the "Star Spangled Banner", "America the Beautiful" does not have the triumphalism found in many patriotic American songs. It was originally a poem composed by Katharine Lee Bates after she had experienced the view from Pikes Peak of fertile ground as far as the eye could see, and was sung to a variety of tunes until the present one, written as a hymn tune in 1882 by Samuel Ward, became associated with it. In 1843, the song Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean was written and was most popular during the civil war. The song mostly praises the army and navy in a rousing manner. It later was commonly used in Popeye Cartoons and in the 21st century the melody is occasionally used and the lyrics rarely. During the events leading up to the American Civil War, both the North and the South generated a number of songs to stir up patriotic sentiments such as "Battle Hymn of the Republic", and "Dixie". However, after the Civil War, the sentiments of most patriotic songs were geared to rebuilding and consolidating the United States. During the Spanish–American War in the 1890s, songwriters continued to write patriotic tunes that honored America's soldiers and rallied citizens in support of the war. Songs such as "Brave Dewey and His Men" and "The Charge of the Roosevelt Riders" lauded Commodore George Dewey and Theodore Roosevelt. Around this time, John Philip Sousa began composing many of his famous patriotic marches, including "The Stars and Stripes Forever" and "The Washington Post March." Songs such as "The Black KPs", likely labelled racist and offensive by modern listeners, were intended to rally the public behind the war effort. Twentieth and twenty-first centuries World War I produced patriotic American songs such as "Over There" by popular songwriter George M. Cohan. Cohan composed the song April 6, 1917, when he saw headlines announcing the U.S. had entered World War I. Cohan also is famous for