The Hippie Movement Of The 1960's

2053 Words5 Pages

David Kindscher Dr. Ron Wilson FMS 380 14 December 2014 Young Voices Speak Loudly In the 1960’s something extraordinary happened in American pop culture, thousands and thousands of young people from all over came together to try to make something all their own. The hippie movement of the 1960’s, a time when countless youths decided they would not simply go along with the rest of society when they knew it was wrong. So they created their own system, the way they wanted it to be. This was an important step in giving the younger generation an equal voice and recognition in American society. Because the hippies held onto their ideals in spite of the being constantly treated poorly by the older generation. (Lewis 52) The older …show more content…

In today’s world the term hippie can be thrown out for no other reason than a person having slightly longer than average hair but in the 1960’s it was much more complex question. In the 60’s hippies could be broken up and identified into four categories: visionary, midnights, plastics, and the freaks and heads. The visionarys are most likely one of the types that you think about when you think of a hippie. They seek to create a perfect society and are thought to have been responsible for origination of the hippie movement. (Howard 43) Essentially they were similar to a guide for the others both spiritually and …show more content…

For example a person smoking weed rather than cigarettes, it does not conform and instead goes outside the system of privileges. (Howard 52) A good way to understand this relationship is comparing it to a parent and child relationship. In most cases the parent can take, or threaten to take, something away from the child in order to keep them doing what they want. However what if the child doesn’t want the things you threaten to take? The system of power created by the parent becomes meaningless because the child doesn’t

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Freedom Rides, Vietnam, and Social activism among the youths of America have left the 60’s with a very profound effect on our society. Without question, the decade of the 1960’s was one of the most controversial in American History. Throughout this period of social unrest, anti-war attitudes were gaining prevalence in a peace-loving subculture, and individuals began to question certain aspects of governmental policy and authority. This was the decade of peace and war, optimism and despair, cultural turbulence and frustration.
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1962 Words | 4 Pages
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1056 Words | 3 Pages
The movement that began during the counterculture era in the 1960s, also known as the youth movement, rebelled against the conformity of American life. The main goal the hippie movement was trying to accomplish was being able change views and ideas politically, socially, and culturally. However, they mainly aimed at changing cultural points and everyday values. The movement started after the assassination of President Kennedy, led into protesting against the Vietnam War, civil rights movement, usage of psychoactive drugs, sexual liberation, a new taste in music, such as the rock genre from bands like The Beatles, and more.
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2095 Words | 5 Pages
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American Counter Culture Movement In The 1960s
1161 Words | 3 Pages
The 1960s was a decade full of cultural, political, and social change in the United States in which activism in the areas of civil rights and anti-war became widespread. It is remembered as a time where many ideas about counterculture permanently changed. It was the decade where African-Americans passionately fought for equal recognition, where young Americans who did not want to conform to the ideals of their elders created their own culture, and where average Americans began standing up against what they believed was an immoral war. The Civil Rights Act of 1964, the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., the Vietnam War, and the Kent State massacre are often discussed events from the 1960s and early 1970s. However, one area of American
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The Impact of the Hippie on American Society
2364 Words | 5 Pages
The government and the older generations could not understand their way of life. Hippies were often portrayed as criminals, subversive to the morals and best interest of the public. Although misunderstood, the hippie had a great impact throughout the country, still surviving today in American culture. The term “hippie” itself became a universal term in the late sixties. It originated in a 1967 article in Ramparts, entitled “The Social History of the Hippies.” Afterward, the name was captured by the mass media as a label for the people of the new movement. (Yablonsky 28) Even before this, the word “hip” described someone who was “in” and “down”, wise to what was going on around him. By the 1960s, some of America’s youth created a gap between themselves and their parents. They grew their hair long because it was natural and therefore considered beautiful.
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Summer Of Love: The Hippie Movement
984 Words | 2 Pages
During the summer of love, the diggers helped out and spread the trend of being a hippie. Hippies are always so recognizable then and now with their “long flowing hair, bright clothes, and flowy dresses.” (The Sixties Chronicles 2004) With their noticeable look the hippies believed strongly in individualism. Again shown with their clothes, but also something else. “...where the hippie cry, "Do your own thing!" served to incubate a new cornucopia of causes…” (Stein pg.1) There are all sorts of causes that they fought for then that we have now that is better than what it was before. Some of the causes they fought for were gay rights, the environment, women's liberation, saving the whales, saving the forests and so much more. It had a, “...widespread impact in fashion, art, in the use of illicit drugs…” (Ventre pg.1) They also helped out creating a counterculture movement. During the summer of love there was also bad things happening during this time, Vietnam war was going on. The Summer of Love was a backlash to the war. Most of the people there wanted progress and there were tons of anti-war protests. Although there were still some who resisted and didn’t care that thousands of people were being drafted into the war. “Some methods of change proved healthy, others were damaging, depending on which social observers are to be believed.” (Summer of Love That Changed Music and Culture 2007) While the hippies were out and trying to change the world, some did it while doing
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2686 Words | 6 Pages
To some, the 60s were a decade of discovery as Americans first journeyed to the moon. Others remember the time as a decade of America’s moral decline with the advent of rock and roll and its representation of "sinful", inappropriate ideals. Yet for many people, the 60s symbolized a decade of love and harmony. Hippies exemplified these beliefs, and in 1969 they gathered at a music festival known as Woodstock to celebrate their music, their love, and their freedom in a concert that has remained on of the most influential events of the 60s. The youth of the 60s were known as the "Love generation". They made love promiscuously and openly, and preferred open to formal marriages. Weekend "love-ins", free form gatherings, communal living quarters, and rock festivals were held in response to the "love movement". The "love movement" was the hippie belief for peace and harmony. It reached its peak in the summer of 1967, and by then it had over 300,000 followers who referred to themselves as the "love children" or the "gentle people". They gathered in San Francisco, the hippie center of the world, during the summers. During these "Summers of love", they lived on the streets of Haight-Ashbury, sitting in groups along the street and strumming their guitars (Frike 62). These "love children", otherwise known as the hippies were the result of the antiwar movement that was sweeping the nation during the Vietnam war. Hippies were resolutely against the war. They participated loudly, and often violently in countless anti-war protest rallies and marches. They were known to publicly burn draft cards, and some even renounced military service for prison (Hertsgard 124). Hippies were not only antiwar, they were predominantly antiestablishment. The status symbols of their elders were decisively rejected: wealth, social position, culture, physical attractiveness, and economic security. They held in disdain, cosmetics, expensive jewelry, nightclubs and restaurants and all other refinements of the affluent society. Wealth meant nothing to them. Personal freedom to express oneself was believed to be the most important thing in life. They were antiauthority, antirace discrimination, and antipollution, in short they were rebels against the society, fighting against the moral standards of America they felt were unjust (Hertsgard 153). Events such...
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469 Words | 1 Pages
It was August 15,1969 in Bethel, New York people were heading to the 3 Days of
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1428 Words | 3 Pages
The sixties was a decade of liberation and revolution, a time of great change and exciting exploration for the generations to come. It was a time of anti-war protests, free love, sit-ins, naked hippie chicks and mind-altering drugs. In big cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York and Paris, there was a passionate exchange of ideas, fiery protests against the Vietnam War, and a time for love, peace and equality. The coming together of like-minded people from around the world was spontaneous and unstoppable. This group of people, which included writers, musicians, thinkers and tokers, came to be known as the popular counterculture, better known as hippies. The dawning of the Age of Aquarius in the late sixties was more than just a musical orgy. It was a time of spiritual missions to fight for change and everything they believed in. Freedom, love, justice, equality and peace were at the very forefront of this movement (West, 2008). Some wore beads. Some had long hair. Some wore tie-dye and others wore turtle-neck sweaters. The Hippie generation was a wild bunch, to say the least, that opened the cookie jar of possibilities politically, sexually, spiritually and socially to forever be known as one of the most memorable social movements of all time (Hippie Generation, 2003).
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The Hippie Movement
1545 Words | 4 Pages
When people hear the term hippie, they think of men and woman in loose clothing with flowers weaved in their hair. Although these men and women did in fact wear these things, they left a significant impact on society. Hippies were a part of the Counterculture movement, which basic ideals were to reject the ideas of mainstream society. The movement itself began with the protesting of the Vietnam War. Eventually, the movement was more than just protesting the war. Hippies promoted the use of recreational drugs, religious tolerance; they also changed society’s views and attitudes about lifestyle and social behavior. The Counterculture movement was the most influential era in the 20th century because the people of this time changed society’s outlook, and broached the topics of drugs, fashion, and sexual freedom.
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The Hippie Movement Of The 1960's

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