Counterculture Movement

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John Lennon of the famous rock band, The Beatles, once said, “If everyone demanded peace instead of another television set, then there’d be peace”. This quote essentially defines the 1960s and the counterculture movement in America. After WWII people had much more free time than they did during the war, and many people decided that they wanted to settle down and start a family. This caused a large boom in child birth. The children born during this boom are known as “baby-boomers”. “Due to the baby boom between 1945 and 1955, over half the population was under 30 years old” (The American Experience 1). During this time in American history, the children of the “baby boomer” generation started rebelling against the war in Vietnam and the conservative, traditional beliefs held by the older generations. The baby-boomers wanted change. The counterculture movement focused mainly on sexual freedom, drug use and the idea of non-conformity. After seeing their country slowly falling to pieces because of the Vietnam War, and seeing family and friends getting drafted to fight in the war, the young people decided to create another culture that revolved around peace, love and freedom. Events such as the Vietnam war and the Watergate Scandal were the catalysts that lead to the start of the counterculture movement. Those who were unhappy with what was going on took part in this social phenomenon and tried to demonstrate their ideals in many ways to get their point across to America. Protests for peace and freedom began popping up on college campuses, rock music’s popularity skyrocketed and different forms of religion and meditation began forming. The 1960s was a very turbulent time in history where the “baby-boomer” generation decided that they we... ... middle of paper ... ...e the way that the country was being run and decided to make a change. They accomplished just that in many different ways, mainly through the kick off of the Gay Rights Movement, and the fact that they inspired an entire generation of people to speak their minds and to make sure that the country did not spiral out of control. Works Cited http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/pill/timeline/index.html Carter, David. Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution. New York: St. Martin's, 2004. Print. http://www.cedarville.edu/resource/education/schools/chca/othergrades/sixties/culture.htm Dolgin, Gail, and Vicente Franco. American Experience: The Summer of Love. PBS, 2007. Print. Gitlin, T. The Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution. I ed. St. Martin's, 2004. Print. Leary, Timothy. Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out. Berkeley, California: Ronin, 2001. Print.

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