Woodstock Research Paper free essay sample

Danielle Krum May 30, 2011 Research Final Woodstock 1969 Every memory of the summer of 1969 is connected to, in one way or another, the historical event, Woodstock. The festival could not have left more of an impact on the â€Å"hippie† generation anymore than it did those three days of music and peace. The generation of the time wanted nothing more than what they got out of Woodstock. Today, people still look back on the festival and think of how well it made history without the expectance of doing so.Woodstock, one of the most important cultural events of the 20th century, combined iconic musical acts with interesting social behavior. In 1969, a group of men set up a music festival, known as Woodstock, which lasted for three, long, peaceful, and music oriented days that involved an abundant amount of sex, drugs, and poor management. â€Å"Many remember Woodstock primarily as a disaster, as it was officially pronounced, a monument to faulty planning, a testament to the limitations and hypocrisies of hippie idealism, a nightmare of absurdities, ironies, and incongruities† (Cooke 177). We will write a custom essay sample on Woodstock Research Paper or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Woodstock was originally planned to be a moneymaking event by John Roberts and Joel Rosenman, Artie Kornfirld, and Michael Lang, but due to the poor planning, the event brought forth no money and a lot of debt. The event took place in Bethel, New York from August 15th to August 17th. â€Å"Attended by 450,000 people, it is remembered as the high point of the ‘peace and love’ ethos of the period, largely because of the disaster that the over-crowding, bad weather, feed shortages, supposed ‘bad acid’ (LSD), and poor facilities presaged was somehow avoided† (Dodgson 523).The percentage of drug induced fans was well over the amount assumed to be present, as was the actual amount of fans. â€Å"Poor planning and happenstance forced them to admit most attendees for free. They were left with a debt of $1. 3 million and a site that cost $100,000 to restore† (Dodgson 523). Woodstock was an event that many wouldn’t have thought to of made history until the actual event happened. The festival is even brought up in history classes during the teaching of the Vietnam War due to the mass amount of fans that were against the war. Many commentators have since claimed that peace and good will arose not in spite of disaster, but because of it. The hunger, rain, mud, and unserviced toilets conspired to create an adversity against which people could unite and bond† (Cooke 178). Most of the fans present expressed how they felt about the war in riots and violence. â€Å"Woodstock Ventures retained its exclusive rights, but the memory of Woodstock Nation belongs to the world; it is irrevocably imbedded in American culture† (Cooke 179). Not only was the war an influence, but the gathering itself influenced the historical outcome. â€Å"The most common feeling among all parties-producers, musicians, audience, town, and nation-was the sense of history in the making. It was the largest group of people ever gathered, and the greatest roster of musicians ever assembled, and it became the defining moment of a generation† (Cooke 178). At the time, teens and young adults were looking for ways to rebel against their religious and strict parents, but in a way that would affect the world in a positive way. Woodstock was, in many ways, a symbolic high point for the 1960s generation, proving that peace and love were possible in the world, if only for a moment† (Berg 863). The war in Vietnam was a huge event that was taking place at the time of Woodstock. Many of the fans that were present, were there to express how the felt about the war. â€Å"The musicians and fans expressed support for social justice and intense opposition to the Vietnam War† (Darity 120). The festival was a way for people to gather and express similar opinions and accept each other.The importance of Woodstock has left a lasting effect on many people from then until now. â€Å"Although in the early 1970s many experts predicted the end of the ‘hippie’ movement, the spirit of Woodstock has both disappeared from the American cultural scene† (Darity 120). The event showed America that as a group, people can bond peacefully and appropriately. â€Å"It wasn’t just the audience of hippies who bonded together in the face of disaster. Community and nation also rushed to their aid. The Red Cross, Girl Scouts, and Boy Scouts all donated food and supplies to the starving hoards.Even local townspeople pardoned the havoc wrought upon their town and made sandwiches for the infiltrators† (Cooke 178). The festival included many artist of the century that weren’t famous at the time, but now can be found in the Rock Hall of Fame. Some of the artists that were present at the festival were, Joan Baez, Blood, Sweat and Tears, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, the Grateful Dead, Arlo Guthrie, Jimi Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin, Ravi Shankar, Sly and the Family Stone, and The Who.The music artists from Woodstock not only left an impact on the fans that attended the event, but effects people from this century and earlier too. â€Å"During the 1990s a second generation of musicians and fans maintained the Woodstock spirit. † â€Å"Since 2002, the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival have occurred every June in Mancheste r, Tennessee† (Darity 120). The music of Woodstock is still played on radios in today’s century and will continue to live on. All in all, Woodstock will always be remembered as those â€Å"three days of peace and music. The event brought together people in a way that none could imagine and taught the world that even for a split second we can all work together peacefully. The musical influences still live on today, and will continue to for more generations to come. Woodstock combined music with peace, love and togetherness in just three days and will always be a part of history. Works Cited 1. International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. Ed. William A. Darity, Jr.. Vol. 9. 2nd ed. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2008.