Influence Of Pop Culture In The 1960s

Pop Culture during the 1960s A new social and political wave came over the United States in the early 1960s. There had been many changes since World War II in domestic life, economic standing, and politics. 1960s America was much more economically stable and felt responsibility for global affairs. John F. Kennedy won the election in 1960 with an agenda of national prosperity and cold war internationalism. During Kennedy’s presidency America faced a few major events including increasing concern about the war in Vietnam, the Bay of Pigs (a major political and interventional failure), and the Cuban Missile Crisis. These events had quite a bit of controversy surrounding them. In 1964, Lyndon Johnson wins the presidential elections with a vision

Whether they were supportive or oppositional to the current events, Americans began to openly voice their opinions in the form of protests. Politics, economics, and global issues were not the only issues Americans were upset about. African Americans began to stand up and protest for the rights that should have been theirs since the Emancipation Proclamation was signed. The Civil Rights Movement was born. In times of unrest, music rises up as a form of opinion. Americans used music as one of the many ways to express their thoughts and feelings about the upheaval in the 1960s. Peace and Freedom songs were created to showcase the concerns and opinions Americans had on major issues, specifically the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement. Music has always been a part of times of upheaval and war in America. “Yankee Doodle” kept spirits up during the Revolutionary War. The Civil War had “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” in the north and “Dixie” in the south. “God Bless America” was created during World War I. Music has always been an avenue for Americans to express themselves during pressing times. The songs that arose from the 1960s are referred to as Freedom and Peace songs for the Civil Rights