Hippies were members of a youth movement of the 1960's and 1970's that started in the United States and spread to Canada, the United Kingdom, and many other countries. The hippies rejected the customs, traditions, and life styles of society and tried to develop those of their own. Most hippies came from white middle-class families and ranged in age from 15 to 25 years old. They thought too many adults cared about making money and little else. The term hippie may come from the word hip, which means "tuned-in" or aware.
Hippies wanted a world based on love of humanity and peace. Many believed that wonderful, magical changes were about to take place. They thought these changes would happen as soon as people learned to express their feelings honestly and to behave naturally at all times. Hippies strongly opposed U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War (1957-1975).
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Zablocki, Benjamin. "Hippies." World Book Student. World Book, 2016. Web. 11 Feb. 2016.
John Forbes Kerry, 27 years old, a Yalie, a Navy vet wearing battle ribbons on a rumpled Army fatigue shirt, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that he could not support the war in which he and other veterans had risked their lives and killed Vietnamese.
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