Woodstock The 1960’s marked a huge turning point in American history. Music continued to become more and more influential in everyday life. By the mid 1960’s, young Americans began to feel progressively more frustrated by the society they were being brought up in. The youth had to witness women be suppressed and discredited strictly based on gender. Many women revolted against the traditional housewife position that men felt the need to impose on their wives. The youth had to watch colored men and women be treated with disrespect and often witnessed horrific hate crimes against people of color. Young Americans had to watch their president allow their country to engage in the Vietnam War, which they believed to be “A pointless war across the
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They were also the biggest group to contribute to the counterculture. “The cry of the baby was heard across the land,” as historian Landon Jones later described the trend (Baby Boomers). More babies were born in 1946 than ever before. A total of 3.4 million babies were born, 20% more than in 1945 (Baby Boomers). This marked the beginning of the baby boom. As soldiers were returning from war they wanted nothing more than stability. When they got back home the four main things they looked for were a wife, a stable job, a house, and a family. Thus creating a massive slew of children being born. A total of 79 million children were born during the years of 1946-1964 (What Caused the Baby Boom). The Baby Boomer generation consisted of 40% of America’s population. As many of these Baby Boomers grew up they began to reject their parents conservative, traditional views. There was a clear generation gap and it had everything to do with why these kids wanted nothing to do with how the world was currently being run. The baby boomer generation wanted peace and equality. They sided with many minorities such as African Americans, LGBT members, women, and youth. They believed equal rights for everybody was a must so they organized protests, sit-ins, and demonstrated a strong distaste for the war and the government in general. Baby Boomers had a hard time trusting their government because they were day in and day out told that we were winning the Vietnam War but in reality the whole war was a failure on our part. Student activists took over college campuses, organized massive demonstrations against the war in Vietnam and occupied parks and other public places. The students felt they owed it to their generation to stand up for what they believe in. These groups of expressive, courageous people were known as hippies. They made up a big portion of the attendees of Woodstock. The festival of Rock and Peace
They were also the biggest group to contribute to the counterculture. “The cry of the baby was heard across the land,” as historian Landon Jones later described the trend (Baby Boomers). More babies were born in 1946 than ever before. A total of 3.4 million babies were born, 20% more than in 1945 (Baby Boomers). This marked the beginning of the baby boom. As soldiers were returning from war they wanted nothing more than stability. When they got back home the four main things they looked for were a wife, a stable job, a house, and a family. Thus creating a massive slew of children being born. A total of 79 million children were born during the years of 1946-1964 (What Caused the Baby Boom). The Baby Boomer generation consisted of 40% of America’s population. As many of these Baby Boomers grew up they began to reject their parents conservative, traditional views. There was a clear generation gap and it had everything to do with why these kids wanted nothing to do with how the world was currently being run. The baby boomer generation wanted peace and equality. They sided with many minorities such as African Americans, LGBT members, women, and youth. They believed equal rights for everybody was a must so they organized protests, sit-ins, and demonstrated a strong distaste for the war and the government in general. Baby Boomers had a hard time trusting their government because they were day in and day out told that we were winning the Vietnam War but in reality the whole war was a failure on our part. Student activists took over college campuses, organized massive demonstrations against the war in Vietnam and occupied parks and other public places. The students felt they owed it to their generation to stand up for what they believe in. These groups of expressive, courageous people were known as hippies. They made up a big portion of the attendees of Woodstock. The festival of Rock and Peace