Ashton Chowning
College Prep English
Dr. Watkins
Research Paper
February 28, 2017
Woodstock Music and Art Fair: Changing America
In 1968, both Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy were assassinated, leaving the United State in a state of uncertainty. With a nation in need, the Woodstock Music and Art fair arose in 1969, standing against the background of the past year (Evans and Kingbur 20). Max Yasgur, a dairy farmer who leased his farm to the Woodstock promoters, once said to the millions of fans at the festival, “The important thing that you've proven to the world is that... a half a million young people can get together and have three days of fun and music and have nothing but fun and music, and I God Bless You for it!” (Gerdes 4), and that is exactly what the crowd of more than 400,000 fans did. A great deal of people will argue that Woodstock was nothing more than a giant hippie festival, but the festival had many effects on the nation. Although Woodstock was an isolated event with no long-lasting effects, modern society demonstrates similar ideals to those displayed to the creators of Woodstock, the performers at Woodstock, the aftermath of Woodstock, the effects of Woodstock.
The Woodstock Music and Art Fair created the largest group of people to come together. The festival was held over a four day period, starting on Friday, August 15, and originally was supposed to end that Friday, but the final performer, Jimi Hendrix, finished the morning of Monday, August 18. (Evans and Kingbury 8). Jimi Hendrix ended the show, but the fair would not have been possible without these four young entrepreneurs: Michael Lang, John Roberts, Joel Rosenman, and Artie Kornfield and the help of a friendly farmer : Max Yasgur (Cottrell 294). When first envisioned, founders intended for Woodstock to be held in the town of Woodstock in upstate New York, but when the town Woodstock turned down the Music and Art Fair only months before the festival, the entrepreneurs turned to a dairy farm in Bethel, New York owned by Max Yasgur. (Gerdes 4, 5). The festival took nine months to plan and build; over a million tickets were sold for the event, but the producers were unprepared for the almost 500,000 fans that had arrived (Gerdes 19, 15; Wadleigh et al.). Fans arrived up to four days before the festival was to start, and the gates were not built in time, declaring Woodstock a free concert (Gerdes 19). The promoters had envisioned a profit-making success, but Integrated a $2 million financial loss (Cottrell 298). Even though the festival was not financially a success, Lang stated, “Your welfare is more important than the dollar… I am happy, you couldn’t buy that for anything” (Wadleigh et al.). By saying this, Lang declared that he wanted to have the festival for the people, not for the people’s money. There were many downsides to the festival: miles of backed up cars, food shortages, rain, and poor sanitation, but the festival stayed peaceful (Gerdes 4). To keep the peace, a security force of off-duty policemen, state troopers, off-duty state correctional officers and Sullivan County sheriff's deputies were hired or volunteered (Gerdes 92). Although the law-enforcers did arrest fans for narcotics no one was arrested for marijuana, due to the fact that there was not enough room in the county jail (Cottrell 295). The festival became like a mini-city when the producers decided to set up a first aid area that consisted of 18 doctors and 36 nurses due to the fact that people were getting hurt, forgetting medicine, overdosing on drugs, and even having babies. (Crampton and Rees 207, 226) From emergency helicopters dropping food and dry clothes, to a traffic-block of the New York State Thruway, Woodstock would soon to become a defining moment in the nation with the festival having the some of the greatest artists of the generation assemble and causing the largest group of young people to gather in one place.
To begin, Woodstock was once a dream of four young men who never thought imagined it would come true, like many of today's successful entrepreneurs who believed their dreams would also not come true. A young, 27-year-old, co-founder of the frozen smoothie kit company PACK’D, Luke Johnstone, was named young entrepreneur of the year in 2016 (“From Freezing Shed to Frozen Drinks Rise of the Smoothie Operator” par. 1). Like the Woodstock entrepreneurs, Johnstone quit his job to start his business, but he was not lucky enough for his dream to happen in just a short nine months like the other four men, his took two years of living in a shed in the back of his parents’ garden (“From Freezing Shed to Frozen Drinks Rise of the Smoothie Operator” par. 4). Another young entrepreneur, like the Woodstock entrepreneurs, is high school sophomore, Natalie Abbott. Abbott turned her 4-H project into her business, The West Hill Honey Company, where she sells honey and lip balm(“Chi-Hi Student Wins State Business Award” par. 1). Although Abbott is younger than the Woodstock entrepreneurs, they are alike because she did not work alone, she had the help of her mother and father, just as the four men had the help of each other (“Chi-Hi Student Wins State Business Award” par. 1). Although the four men of Woodstock and today's entrepreneurs have a plethora of traits in common, a great deal of today's entrepreneurs lack one trait the four men of Woodstock do not; their business is for the money, not the people. The promoters of Woodstock did want the festival to be financially successful, but as for Rosenman, Kornfield, Lang, and Roberts, as long as the fans were enjoying themselves, they were happy with earning no profit.
Moreover, a handful of performers at Woodstock had such an effect on the crowd that their music continues to affect society today. There were more than 400,000 fans that came to the festival to get a glimpse of acts like The Who, Santana, Janis Joplin, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Joe Cocker, and Jimi Hendrix (Crampton and Rees 205). These performers left such a mark in 1969 that today’s society still recognizes their names. These performers opened the door for other performers to come, letting them know that large music festivals will pay high prices for them to play at their events. Ang Lee, an Oscar-winning director, talked of his experience with Woodstock as it “planted a seed” (Johnson par. 4). What Lee meant was that Woodstock created many new opportunities for future performers and types of music. Acts like Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Santana, Joe Cocker and Creedence Clearwater Revival caused a new scene for rock music, while performers like Janis Joplin and Richie Havens changed the sound of folk. Many of these acts will go down in history, not only being musically talented, but also for their place in the drug culture.
Consequently, at Woodstock the most commonly used drug was marijuana , in today’s society marijuana is still the most commonly used drug but it is not used for all the same ways it once was in the 1960’s. While at Woodstock a “pharmacy district” developed where one could buy or sell many different types of drugs (Gerdes 20). Not only was there the consumption of marijuana, but also there also were many other drugs like alcohol, LSD, acid, and heroin (Crampton and Rees 212, 226; Gerdes 19; Johnson par. 1). There also was a fan who had heroin overdose that lead to death while at the festival (Crampton and Rees 226). In today's society all of theses drugs still have a major toll on the country. In the 1960’s marijuana use had no outstanding effects on the American people, but in today's society the use of marijuana had become a huge epidemic over the past years. Even though it has been scientifically proven that marijuana can help seizures, Crohn’s, and effects of cancer, yet many people in today's society still believe that it has no use. In the United States 45 percent of drug arrests in 2013 were due to marijuana, but at Woodstock in 1969 when there was a controversial “Drug War” no one was arrested for marijuana (Merino par. 3). The use of marijuana is more strict in the United States now than it was in 1969.
The effects of Woodstock still affect today’s society and nation as a whole. Woodstock was known for creating a generation for peace and a moment of unity (Gerdes 135). In the summer, throughout the country, there were protests of war, riots over race, and uprisings of feminism that could have caused many problems at the festival, but because of the festival the summer of 1969 is known as the Summer of Love (Clinton, par. 1). After the Summer of Love, Senator Gaylord Nelson declared April 22, 1970 the first official Earth Day in the United States (Crampton and Rees 236). Earth Day is a globally celebrated day dedicated to support protection of the environment. Despite that fact that Woodstock was the cause of the Summer of Love and Earth Day, many people remember Woodstock as a disaster and a giant protest (Gerdes 19). Naturally, Woodstock was not a protest or an outcry, and many of the fans said they would not attend a political demonstration (Gerdes 135). Woodstock was said to be a non-protest event, but months after the festival many Woodstock veterans took part in a Moratorium and Mobilization against the Vietnam War (Gerdes 137). In spring of 1970, following the invasion of Cambodia and the killings at Kent State University and Jackson State University, the veterans also join the national student strike (Gerdes 137). The generation apart of Woodstock proved to be apart of a bigger event than a Music and Art Fair, and those events till affect the lives of today’s society.
In 1968, the country was left with no hope and uncertainty. Michael Lang, the co-creator of the fair, put it as “this generation was brought together, she [the generation] showed it was beautiful… The peace they were screaming about is really what they really want - they’re living it. They value each other more than material things” (Cottrell 298). What Lang means is that the generation came together for peace and they stay together for peace. When looking at modern society, one can see how the ideals demonstrated by the creators of Woodstock, the performers at Woodstock, the aftermath of Woodstock, and the effects of Woodstock share common themes with the ideals of modern society.
Works Cited
“Chi-Hi Student Wins State Business Award.” The Leader-Telegram [Eau Claire, WI], May 2016. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A445109209/OVIC?u=chil38234&xid=caede69f. Accessed 2017.
Clinton, Kate. “Summer of Love.” The Progressive, 2009, p. 40. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A204856137/OVIC?u=chil38234&xid=95d0acab. Accessed 2017.
Cottrell, Robert C. Sex, Drugs, and Rock 'n' Roll: the Rise of America's 1960s Counterculture. Lanham, MD, Rowman & Littlefield, 2015.
Crampton, Luke, and Dafydd Rees. Rock & Roll Year by Year. London, DK Pub. in Association with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, 2003.
Evans, Mike, and Paul Kingsbury. Woodstock: Three Days That Rocked the World. New York, Sterling, 2009.
“From Freezing Shed to Frozen Drinks Rise of the Smoothie Operator.” The London Evening Standard [London, England], 2016, p. 11. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A474806156/OVIC?u=chil38234&xid=a3a53d00. Accessed 2017.
Gerdes, Louise I. Woodstock. Detroit, Greenhaven Press, 2012.
Johnson, Brian D. “Flower Power in Cannes: the Mother of All Rock Festivals and the Mother of All Film Festivals Meet up for the Debut of Ang Lee's New Film about Woodstock.” Maclean's, Jan. 2009, p. 48. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A202012682/OVIC?u=chil38234&xid=41605bd1. Accessed 2017.
Merino, Noël, editor. “Marijuana Should Be Fully Legalized, Not Just Decriminalized.” Marijuana Should Be Fully Legalized, Not Just Decriminalized, vol. 1, 2015. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010991226/OVIC? u=chil38234&xid=e6bd3aab. Accessed 2017.
Wadleigh, Michael, et al. Woodstock, 3 Days of Peace & Music. Warner Bros., 1994.
College Prep English
Dr. Watkins
Research Paper
February 28, 2017
Woodstock Music and Art Fair: Changing America
In 1968, both Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy were assassinated, leaving the United State in a state of uncertainty. With a nation in need, the Woodstock Music and Art fair arose in 1969, standing against the background of the past year (Evans and Kingbur 20). Max Yasgur, a dairy farmer who leased his farm to the Woodstock promoters, once said to the millions of fans at the festival, “The important thing that you've proven to the world is that... a half a million young people can get together and have three days of fun and music and have nothing but fun and music, and I God Bless You for it!” (Gerdes 4), and that is exactly what the crowd of more than 400,000 fans did. A great deal of people will argue that Woodstock was nothing more than a giant hippie festival, but the festival had many effects on the nation. Although Woodstock was an isolated event with no long-lasting effects, modern society demonstrates similar ideals to those displayed to the creators of Woodstock, the performers at Woodstock, the aftermath of Woodstock, the effects of Woodstock.
The Woodstock Music and Art Fair created the largest group of people to come together. The festival was held over a four day period, starting on Friday, August 15, and originally was supposed to end that Friday, but the final performer, Jimi Hendrix, finished the morning of Monday, August 18. (Evans and Kingbury 8). Jimi Hendrix ended the show, but the fair would not have been possible without these four young entrepreneurs: Michael Lang, John Roberts, Joel Rosenman, and Artie Kornfield and the help of a friendly farmer : Max Yasgur (Cottrell 294). When first envisioned, founders intended for Woodstock to be held in the town of Woodstock in upstate New York, but when the town Woodstock turned down the Music and Art Fair only months before the festival, the entrepreneurs turned to a dairy farm in Bethel, New York owned by Max Yasgur. (Gerdes 4, 5). The festival took nine months to plan and build; over a million tickets were sold for the event, but the producers were unprepared for the almost 500,000 fans that had arrived (Gerdes 19, 15; Wadleigh et al.). Fans arrived up to four days before the festival was to start, and the gates were not built in time, declaring Woodstock a free concert (Gerdes 19). The promoters had envisioned a profit-making success, but Integrated a $2 million financial loss (Cottrell 298). Even though the festival was not financially a success, Lang stated, “Your welfare is more important than the dollar… I am happy, you couldn’t buy that for anything” (Wadleigh et al.). By saying this, Lang declared that he wanted to have the festival for the people, not for the people’s money. There were many downsides to the festival: miles of backed up cars, food shortages, rain, and poor sanitation, but the festival stayed peaceful (Gerdes 4). To keep the peace, a security force of off-duty policemen, state troopers, off-duty state correctional officers and Sullivan County sheriff's deputies were hired or volunteered (Gerdes 92). Although the law-enforcers did arrest fans for narcotics no one was arrested for marijuana, due to the fact that there was not enough room in the county jail (Cottrell 295). The festival became like a mini-city when the producers decided to set up a first aid area that consisted of 18 doctors and 36 nurses due to the fact that people were getting hurt, forgetting medicine, overdosing on drugs, and even having babies. (Crampton and Rees 207, 226) From emergency helicopters dropping food and dry clothes, to a traffic-block of the New York State Thruway, Woodstock would soon to become a defining moment in the nation with the festival having the some of the greatest artists of the generation assemble and causing the largest group of young people to gather in one place.
To begin, Woodstock was once a dream of four young men who never thought imagined it would come true, like many of today's successful entrepreneurs who believed their dreams would also not come true. A young, 27-year-old, co-founder of the frozen smoothie kit company PACK’D, Luke Johnstone, was named young entrepreneur of the year in 2016 (“From Freezing Shed to Frozen Drinks Rise of the Smoothie Operator” par. 1). Like the Woodstock entrepreneurs, Johnstone quit his job to start his business, but he was not lucky enough for his dream to happen in just a short nine months like the other four men, his took two years of living in a shed in the back of his parents’ garden (“From Freezing Shed to Frozen Drinks Rise of the Smoothie Operator” par. 4). Another young entrepreneur, like the Woodstock entrepreneurs, is high school sophomore, Natalie Abbott. Abbott turned her 4-H project into her business, The West Hill Honey Company, where she sells honey and lip balm(“Chi-Hi Student Wins State Business Award” par. 1). Although Abbott is younger than the Woodstock entrepreneurs, they are alike because she did not work alone, she had the help of her mother and father, just as the four men had the help of each other (“Chi-Hi Student Wins State Business Award” par. 1). Although the four men of Woodstock and today's entrepreneurs have a plethora of traits in common, a great deal of today's entrepreneurs lack one trait the four men of Woodstock do not; their business is for the money, not the people. The promoters of Woodstock did want the festival to be financially successful, but as for Rosenman, Kornfield, Lang, and Roberts, as long as the fans were enjoying themselves, they were happy with earning no profit.
Moreover, a handful of performers at Woodstock had such an effect on the crowd that their music continues to affect society today. There were more than 400,000 fans that came to the festival to get a glimpse of acts like The Who, Santana, Janis Joplin, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Joe Cocker, and Jimi Hendrix (Crampton and Rees 205). These performers left such a mark in 1969 that today’s society still recognizes their names. These performers opened the door for other performers to come, letting them know that large music festivals will pay high prices for them to play at their events. Ang Lee, an Oscar-winning director, talked of his experience with Woodstock as it “planted a seed” (Johnson par. 4). What Lee meant was that Woodstock created many new opportunities for future performers and types of music. Acts like Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Santana, Joe Cocker and Creedence Clearwater Revival caused a new scene for rock music, while performers like Janis Joplin and Richie Havens changed the sound of folk. Many of these acts will go down in history, not only being musically talented, but also for their place in the drug culture.
Consequently, at Woodstock the most commonly used drug was marijuana , in today’s society marijuana is still the most commonly used drug but it is not used for all the same ways it once was in the 1960’s. While at Woodstock a “pharmacy district” developed where one could buy or sell many different types of drugs (Gerdes 20). Not only was there the consumption of marijuana, but also there also were many other drugs like alcohol, LSD, acid, and heroin (Crampton and Rees 212, 226; Gerdes 19; Johnson par. 1). There also was a fan who had heroin overdose that lead to death while at the festival (Crampton and Rees 226). In today's society all of theses drugs still have a major toll on the country. In the 1960’s marijuana use had no outstanding effects on the American people, but in today's society the use of marijuana had become a huge epidemic over the past years. Even though it has been scientifically proven that marijuana can help seizures, Crohn’s, and effects of cancer, yet many people in today's society still believe that it has no use. In the United States 45 percent of drug arrests in 2013 were due to marijuana, but at Woodstock in 1969 when there was a controversial “Drug War” no one was arrested for marijuana (Merino par. 3). The use of marijuana is more strict in the United States now than it was in 1969.
The effects of Woodstock still affect today’s society and nation as a whole. Woodstock was known for creating a generation for peace and a moment of unity (Gerdes 135). In the summer, throughout the country, there were protests of war, riots over race, and uprisings of feminism that could have caused many problems at the festival, but because of the festival the summer of 1969 is known as the Summer of Love (Clinton, par. 1). After the Summer of Love, Senator Gaylord Nelson declared April 22, 1970 the first official Earth Day in the United States (Crampton and Rees 236). Earth Day is a globally celebrated day dedicated to support protection of the environment. Despite that fact that Woodstock was the cause of the Summer of Love and Earth Day, many people remember Woodstock as a disaster and a giant protest (Gerdes 19). Naturally, Woodstock was not a protest or an outcry, and many of the fans said they would not attend a political demonstration (Gerdes 135). Woodstock was said to be a non-protest event, but months after the festival many Woodstock veterans took part in a Moratorium and Mobilization against the Vietnam War (Gerdes 137). In spring of 1970, following the invasion of Cambodia and the killings at Kent State University and Jackson State University, the veterans also join the national student strike (Gerdes 137). The generation apart of Woodstock proved to be apart of a bigger event than a Music and Art Fair, and those events till affect the lives of today’s society.
In 1968, the country was left with no hope and uncertainty. Michael Lang, the co-creator of the fair, put it as “this generation was brought together, she [the generation] showed it was beautiful… The peace they were screaming about is really what they really want - they’re living it. They value each other more than material things” (Cottrell 298). What Lang means is that the generation came together for peace and they stay together for peace. When looking at modern society, one can see how the ideals demonstrated by the creators of Woodstock, the performers at Woodstock, the aftermath of Woodstock, and the effects of Woodstock share common themes with the ideals of modern society.
Works Cited
“Chi-Hi Student Wins State Business Award.” The Leader-Telegram [Eau Claire, WI], May 2016. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A445109209/OVIC?u=chil38234&xid=caede69f. Accessed 2017.
Clinton, Kate. “Summer of Love.” The Progressive, 2009, p. 40. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A204856137/OVIC?u=chil38234&xid=95d0acab. Accessed 2017.
Cottrell, Robert C. Sex, Drugs, and Rock 'n' Roll: the Rise of America's 1960s Counterculture. Lanham, MD, Rowman & Littlefield, 2015.
Crampton, Luke, and Dafydd Rees. Rock & Roll Year by Year. London, DK Pub. in Association with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, 2003.
Evans, Mike, and Paul Kingsbury. Woodstock: Three Days That Rocked the World. New York, Sterling, 2009.
“From Freezing Shed to Frozen Drinks Rise of the Smoothie Operator.” The London Evening Standard [London, England], 2016, p. 11. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A474806156/OVIC?u=chil38234&xid=a3a53d00. Accessed 2017.
Gerdes, Louise I. Woodstock. Detroit, Greenhaven Press, 2012.
Johnson, Brian D. “Flower Power in Cannes: the Mother of All Rock Festivals and the Mother of All Film Festivals Meet up for the Debut of Ang Lee's New Film about Woodstock.” Maclean's, Jan. 2009, p. 48. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A202012682/OVIC?u=chil38234&xid=41605bd1. Accessed 2017.
Merino, Noël, editor. “Marijuana Should Be Fully Legalized, Not Just Decriminalized.” Marijuana Should Be Fully Legalized, Not Just Decriminalized, vol. 1, 2015. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010991226/OVIC? u=chil38234&xid=e6bd3aab. Accessed 2017.
Wadleigh, Michael, et al. Woodstock, 3 Days of Peace & Music. Warner Bros., 1994.