Humans throughout history have proven to be a very aggressive species. They disagree with one another, which might lead to conflict, and if the conflict is big enough, war. There have been many great battles and wars in the past, but one of the most controversial and protested war in human history was the Vietnam War. As World War II ended, the young males returned to their homes. They began families which brought a significant number of new children into the world. This dramatic increase in the number of births is called the Baby Boom. The Baby Boomers were new generation of people. As the world started to recover from the war, time passed, but as the saying goes “History will repeat itself” (George Santanaya, 1905). As time passed a conflict between the United States and Vietnam erupted. Communism was the reasoning behind the war. During the 50’s and 60’s communism was seen as a problem to the United States because of the domino effect it had on the Asian countries. Communism was spreading quickly and the United States feared that Vietnam was going to fall under communist control the way China and Korea had. To try and prevent this disease from spreading, the United States declared war as a way to stop this effect. In the past, citizens, for the most part, supported the United States in declaring war but the baby boomers thought otherwise. The baby boomers felt that the war was wrong and without knowing it changed history for the better though the power of love, peace, and most importantly, music.
The music of the 1960’s served as the voice of millions and was a large contributor to the revolution that was about to occur during the decade. This was a time of rebellion, when the young people of the country questioned everything ...
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...the movement was on a very memorial farm. This was not an ordinary farm; it was the location of The Woodstock Music and Art Festival. On August 15th 1969, The Woodstock Music and Art Festival brought together the most popular artists of the era to celebrate peace, love, and above all, music. Over 400 000+ people showed up to help support the cause and because of this, the festival gained a lot of media attention.
Works Cited
Phull, Hardeep. Story behind the Protest Song: A Reference Guide to the 50 Songs That Changed the 20th Century. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2008. Print.
Perone, James E. Songs of the Vietnam Conflict. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2001. Print.
Yagi, Randy. "10 Top Anti-War/Protest Songs About the Vietnam War." Examiner.com. N.p., 29 Mar. 2012. Web. 08 Apr. 2014.
"Vietnam War." HowStuffWorks. Discovery Communications, 8 Apr. 2014. Web. 08 Apr. 2014.
In the summer of 1969, a music festival called, “Woodstock”, took place for three straight days in Upstate, New York, with thirty-two musical acts playing, and 500,000 people from around the world coming to join this musical, peaceful movement. Woodstock started out being a small concert, created to locally promote peace in the world, by the power of music and its lyrics. Now, Woodstock is still being celebrated over 40 years later. The chaotic political climate that the ‘baby boomers’ were growing up in is most likely the reason for this event becoming of such an importance to the world. The violence of the Vietnam War, protests at Kent State and the Democratic Convention, and the assassinations contributed to an ‘out of control’ world. The fact that so many people came to Woodstock and were able to latch onto the ideals of peace, love, and community became a wonderful, joyous symbol to this generation. This three day music festival represented the ideal for baby boomers during a chaotic political time.
To the persistent individual, though, there is a body of music in existence that merits regard. It is powerful music written by the youth of America, youngsters who did have a stake in the Vietnam War. There can be little question about the origins of the power which American protest music conveyed: those who wrote such music lived each day with the real knowledge that they were losing friends in, and could possibly be forced themselves to go to, Vietnam. One such group, Creedence Clearwater Revival, made its contribution to this genre near the end of the Vietnam War.
Students, along with hippies, had anti-war rallies at many colleges across America. The large numbers of baby boomers currently in college reinforced the student activism. The anti-war movement is often said to have been a major factor affecting America's involvement in the war. These antiwar rallies most always had musicians performing songs to backup their antiwar message. Joan Baez is a noted antiwar non-violent singer/songwri...
The ‘60s were the age of youth, as millions of children’s from post World War II became teenagers and rebelled against the conservative fifties. Denying civil rights to African-Americans and liberation to teenagers in previous decades and Vietnam War, created a vortexes which lead to massive rebellion against the status qua. Music of the 1960s was characteristic of the revolution that was going on during the decade. It was a time of rebellion and counter-culture in which the teenagers and college students were critical of government, business, religious institution and other various aspects of life. Era marked by civil rights movement, Vietnam War, environment of drug abuse and sexual freedom formed new music like: folk rock, soul and psychedelic rock. These genres starkly contrast the teen idol music of ‘50s pop mainstream. Writes John Covach; “World was exploding, and rock musicians were listening more closely than ever.”(Covach, 152) Such stark contrast in pop music directly relay to changing social culture in America, which further echo’s the relationship between music and culture.
McMaster University, "Keeping Up Morale War Songs from the first half of 20th century." Accessed March 5, 2014.
400,000 people, 32 bands, and 3 days of Peace, love and Rock and Roll (Gerdes, Louise). Woodstock was a free 3 day concert held in Max Yasgur's 600 acre dairy farm in Bethel, New York (Statement on the Historical and Cultural Significance of the 1969 Woodstock Festival Site). What was first made to be a recording studio for the community of Woodstock became an iconic American image (Gerdes, Louise 16). Woodstock was a defining moment in American history because it influenced counter culture and changed the lives of the younger generation that we see today.
Throughout time, music has been an influential part of society. As a form of entertainment and expression, its impact has always been felt both economically and emotionally. During the Vietnam war, music evolved into more a form of expression rather than pure entertainment. Emotionally charged songs became a method to oppose the war, and vent frustrations. While many songs opposed the war, numerous others focused on peace and happiness. They provided a positive perspective in an otherwise depressing time. Along with incorporating passion into music, cultural diversity increased in music greatly. Black artists became progressively more popular and accepted in the musical scene. This respect carried over to society slowly but surely. During the Vietnam war, music played a crucial role in the societal evolution into a state where emotions fueled actions, more emphasis was put on equality, all opinions counted.
Songs of peace and harmony were chanted throughout protests and anti-war demonstrations, America’s youth was changing rapidly. Never before had the younger generation been so outspoken. Fifty thousand flower children and hippies traveled to San Francisco for the "Summer of Love," with the Beatles’ hits song, "Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band" (listen) as their light in the dark. The largest anti-war demonstration in history was held when 25,000 people marched from the Capitol to the Washington Monument, once again, showing the unity of youth.1
The 1960’s was one of the most controversial decades in American history because of not only the Vietnam War, but there was an outbreak of protests involving civil and social conditions all across college campuses. These protests have been taken to the extent where people either have died or have been seriously injured. However, during the 1960’s, America saw a popular form of art known as protest music, which responded to the social turmoil of that era, from the civil rights movement to the war in Vietnam. A veritable pantheon of musicians, such as Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Phil Ochs, Joan Baez, and Bob Dylan sang their songs to encourage union organizers to protest the inequities of their time, creating a diverse variety of popular protest music, which has reached out to the youthful generations everywhere demanding for a revolutionary change. The protest music took the children of the 1960’s to a completely new different level. Musicians of this generation were not going to sit and do nothing while the government lied to the people about what was going on in Vietnam. Instead, they took their guitar-strumming troubadours from the coffee houses, plugged them in, and sent the music and the message into the college dorm rooms and the homes of the youth of America. However, as decades went by, protest music does not have much of an impact as it use to because of the way things have changed over the years. Through the analysis of the music during the 1960’s, there shall be an understanding on how the different genres of protest music has affected social protesters based on how musicians have become the collective conscience of that generation through their lyrics and music and the main factors that contributed to the lack of popula...
Martin, Marvin. The Beatles: The Music Was Never the Same. New York: F. Watts, 1996. Print.
.... I picked the song “War” by Edwin Starr to talk about the Vietnam War. This song got right to the point and stated that war was good for nothing, which was how most of the nation felt about the Vietnam War. All three of these songs were dependable because they were written during the 1960s-1970s era and captured what was happening during that time. For my other sources, I based them upon which sources I believed were the most reliable. That was my main point when finding my resources. I had to do a lot of research to make sure that I was choosing sources that had reliable and correct facts about this time period. These sources also were not bias and explained for the most part, both sides of the protests. I did not want sources that favored one side opposed to the other because and were personal opinions because that would not be reliable compared to actual facts.
Tick, Judith, and Paul E. Beaudoin. Music in the USA: a Documentary Companion. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2008. Print.
Hopkins, Alexander E. "Protest and Rock n' Roll During the Vietnam War." Student Pulse 4.11 (2012). http://www.studentpulse.com/a?id=713
"Songs and the Civil Rights Movement." Songs and the Civil Rights Movement. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2013.
Vietnam War Protest Music (3 of 3) - YouTube. YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. 3 Dec. 2003. Web. 23 Nov. 2011. .