How Important Was The Civil Rights Movement In The 1950's And 1960s

The 1950’s and 1960’s were a time of significant political changes in the United States; the baby boomers from post-World War II were coming of age, the Vietnam War had begun, and the civil rights and women’s liberation movements were in full swing. The Vietnam War came when the United States citizens were tired of war; they had suffered through World War I and II, and the Korean War. The Civil Rights and women’s liberation movements increased student involvement in politics. With the middle class prospering, televisions and radios became common place in homes allowing for an influx of media and music.
Music has often played a role in political and social events; however, those events were usually focused on a smaller population (i.e. Swing low, Sweet Chariot for slaves1 and We Shall over Come for African American civil rights). Folk singers had become active in the civil rights movement with songs like “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll” by Bob Dylan and “Birmingham Sunday” by Joan Baez.2 The Vietnam War affected the masses and music became a method to unite the public and express disapproval to America’s involvement in Vietnam. Bob Dylan released

“Perhaps the most memorable act came from influential rock guitar virtuoso Jimi Hendrix when he played a searing rendition of America’s national anthem, The Star Spangled Banner.” During his performance Hendrix distorted his guitar sounds and used whammy-bar techniques to realistically imitate war sounds, such as machine guns and explosions. Hendrix briefly played “Taps” about half way through the