The Sixties

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1960’s Term Paper

The 1960’s impacted the United States in profound ways. With the seventy million baby boomers growing into their teens, they brought with them change that is still evolving in our society today. The sixties was a time where American culture moved from being conservative to new and insightful ways of thinking. With these changes, it brought a new counter culture that would be known as the hippie culture. The hippies led way into a new sexual revolution that would break the old fashioned boundaries. The hippies also ushered in a new era where drugs became popular to a large public as well as within their own culture. Drugs were becoming a part of American culture, as well as new scientific research, into the benefits of psychedelic drugs. The Cultural Revolution in the sixties produced many groundbreaking ideas that are still present and changing in our society today.

The sixties were a revolutionary era. American life would change and adopt to new ways of thinking we still use today. “Seventy million post-war children were coming to their teenage years.” (Goodwin) They would bring in the new counter culture that produced new music and fads. Skaters were emerging on the west coast and fashion was being swayed by teens across the U.S. College campuses were also radically changing during the Vietnam War. The campuses were becoming large areas where student would protest the war and draft. They all protested for peace but were often met with police force. Not only were the teens protesting, but the sixties also contained the start of the Civil Rights movement, in which African Americans protested for better civil rights in the south. Martin Luther King Jr. was the most prominent leader of the movement. He pro...

... middle of paper ...

... been possible without the numerous civil rights leaders, the baby boomer generation, and the new hippie culture. By the end of sixties, the United States culture could barely be compared to how it remained just ten years prior.

Works Cited

Baciq, Tom. "History of Marijuana Use." Infoplease. Infoplease, 01 May 2007. Web. 13 Mar. 2012. .

Goodwin, Mary. "American Cultural History." - 1960. Lone Star College, 02 June 2011. Web. 13 Mar. 2012. .

"Sexual Revolution." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 13 Mar. 2012. Web. 13 Mar. 2012. .

House, Christopher. "Sixties Drugs." University of Minnesota Duluth Welcomes You. 25 Aug. 2002. Web. 13 Mar. 2012. .

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