A modernday revolution American turmoil in the 1960s
Hubert Humphrey once stated, "When we say, 'One nation under God, with liberty and justice for all,' we are talking about all people. We either ought to believe it or quit saying it" (Hakim 111). During the 1960's, a great number of people did, in fact, begin to believe it. These years were a time of great change for America. The country was literally redefined as people from all walks of life fought to uphold their standards on what they believed a true democracy is made of; equal rights for all races, freedom of speech, and the right to stay out of wars in which they felt they didn't belong. The music of the era did a lot of defining and upholding as well; in fact, it was a driving force, or at the very least a strongly supporting force, in many of the movements that took place. However, it is to be expected that in attempting to change a nation one will inevitably face opposition. The Vietnamese weren't the only ones involved in a civil war those years; in America, one could easily find brother turning against brother, or more commonly, parent against child, as each side fought to defend their views. The 1960's were a major turning point in the history of the U.S, and when it was all over, the American way of life would
Emmens, Carol A. An Album of the Sixties. New York: Franklin Watts, 1981. With the tremendous influence of the music of the sixties, it makes sense that one of the most memorable events of the decade was Woodstock, a three day celebration of song, drugs, sex, and peace. Held in the Catskills in August 1969, Max Yusgar was paid fifty thousand dollars for the use of his farm. Bands included Janis Joplin, Joan Baez, Richie Havens, The Who, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Grateful Dead, and Jimi Hendrix, among many others (Sann 287). The number of people attending Woodstock was equivalent to the population of the fourth largest city in the U.S. at the time, and traffic was backed up for literally miles (Benson 103). The celebration received a lot of negative feedback from older generations, but other than excessive drug use premarital sex, Woodstock-goers handled themselves very well. Of the five thousand people treated for injuries, the majority were foot problems as a result of going barefoot, but not a single injury was inflicted upon anyone by another human being (Sann 287). Amazingly, a store owner told a New York Times reporter, "I'll tell you something... we cashed I don't know how many checks... and not one of them bounced" (Benson 103). While the anti-segregation movement carried on in the American South, war raged in Vietnam. The roots of the war dated back to the early 1950's, when the Viet Minh were in control of North Vietnam and the French were in control of the South. They shared a common goal of wanting to unite the country, but neither wanted to relinquish control. In 1954, France abandoned the cause, leaving Ngo Dinh Diem in charge of the southern half of the country. Diem, however, did not have the resources to fight against the Viet Minh, so rather than admitting defeat, he appealed to the United States for help. President Kennedy agreed to send a small number of troops in for assistance, and the general public initially agreed with the choice. However, Diem was assassinated in 1963, and when no strong government was formed afterwards, the U.S. was forced to "shoulder... more and more of the burden of the war" (Benson 134-136). By 1967, the Vietnam war was costing America seventy million dollars a day (Hakim 119), and by the wars end, two-three million Vietnamese and fifty-eight thousand Americans were dead (Gitlin 3). "Bob Dylan." [http://www.rollingstone.com/sections/artists/text/bio.asp?afl=strBioType
Some common words found in the essay are:
Hubert Humphrey, York Times, President Kennedy, Guard Guard, Bull Conner, King Jr, National Guard, Blowing Wind, Luther King's, Hendrix Sann, equal rights, luther king, martin luther, form protest, black population, anti-segregation movement, luther king jr, king jr, able join hands, jimi hendrix, methods protest, join hands, martin luther king,
Approximate Word count = 3211
Approximate Pages = 13 (250 words per page double spaced)
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