How Did Bob Dylan Influence The Counterculture Movement

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“The torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans.” ( Kauffman 3). These words were uttered by president John F Kennedy in his inaugural address in 1963. The 1960’s generation was a completely different from the 1950’s. People such as Bob Dylan rejected the conformity of the 1950’s. Bob Dylan and other musicians started the counterculture movement. This movement emphasized sex, drugs and rock and roll. Singer Bob Dylan was an important individual in American music and culture, because his music influenced the counterculture movement.
The 1950’s was the most prosperous decade in U.S history, (Kauffman, 1). This was the baby boom generation after WWII. the 1950’s gave new prosperity, material possessions and suburban houses it was called …show more content…

The epicenter of the hippie community was Haight- Ashbury in san francisco, Hippies were apart of the organizations that strided to legalize marijuana and sexual freedom (Hippies,1). Thousands of white middle class young people dropped out to live in these hippie communities. People saw the hippies as people without greed, loneliness, or any anxieties of modern society. The Hippies did not make their name up themselves, “Michael Fallon a San Francisco reporter used the term to describe the new bohemian lifestyle…. He shortened the term hipster used by Norman Mailer” (Hippies,1). Furthermore the hippie life was seen as reckless and dangerous they protested by refusing to take part in society. In addition, their life style included use of drugs, marijuana, LSD, and sex out of wedlock which encourage the birth control drug. Crime also skyrocketed in these communities. More problems included homelessness, malnutrition, and drug related problems. Even though the hippies seem to be advocated peace and love not war during the American war in vietnam. The hippies wanted to create a society based on the nation's founding ideals democracy, justice, and

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