The College Board

Document-Based Essay Question (DBQ)

Directions: The following question requires you to construct a coherent essay that
integrates your interpretation of Documents A – I and your knowledge of the period
referred to in the question. High scores will be earned only by essays that both cite key
pieces of evidence from the documents and draw on outside knowledge of the period.
Some of the documents have been edited, and wording and punctuation have been
modernized.

1) The “hippie” youth movement exemplified the new counter culture

that emerged in the 1960’s. Access the validity of this statement.

Document A
 Source: “Woodstock Music Festival”, Hulton Archive by Getty
Images, August 15, 1969.

Document B
Source: “Drug Abuse Control Amendments of 1965”, National Archives
and Records Adminstration, July 15 1965.
The Congress hereby finds and declares that there is a wide spread of
illicit traffic in depressant and stimulant drugs moving in or otherwise
affecting interstate commerce; that the use of such drugs, when not
under the supervision of a licensed practitioner, often endangers
safety on the highways (without distinction of interstate and intrastate
traffic thereon) and otherwise has become a threat to the public health
and safety, making additional regulation of such drugs necessary
regardless of the intrastate or interstate origin of such drugs.

Document C
Source: “The ‘Hashbury’ is the Capital of Hippies”, New York Times
article by Hunter S. Thompson, May 14, 1967.
Now, in 1967, there is not much doubt that Berkeley has gone through
a revolution of some kind, but the end result is not exactly what the
original leaders had in mind. Many one-time activists have forsaken
politics entirely and turned to drugs. Others have even forsaken
Berkeley. During 1966, the hot center of the revolutionary action on
the coast began moving across the bay to San Francisco’s Haight-
Ashbury district, a run down Victorian neighborhood of about 40
square blocks between the Negro/Fillmore district and Golden Gate
Park.

Document D
Source: “Hippieland Awaiting Its ‘Flower Children’”, Chicago Tribune
article by Robert Strand, June 18 1967.

The “flower children” are coming for a “summer of love,” and nobody
knows what might happen, or when. At best there will be harmony and
happiness in Haight-Ashbury, that section of the city near Golden Gate
Park known as Hippie-land. At worst there may be chaos in the park for
the thousands of hungry and homeless ones.
The number [of visitors] is approximately 200,000 greater than the city
fathers want. The mayor and the board of supervisors already have run
up the “Keep Out” sign for the hippies, the young dropouts from
society who affect bizarre dress and a frequent taste for LSD and
marijuana.
 Document E
Source: “Music, Art Fair Ends; 2 are dead,” Chicago Tribune (Chicago,
IL), August 18, 1969.

Many of the 3000 persons treated for illness or injuries at the fair
were drug victims, doctors reported. One youth died from a drug
overdose and another, Raymond R. Mixsak , 17, of Trenton, N. J. was
killed when a tractor ran over his sleeping bag in a muddy field. Some
of the injured were airlifted to hospitals in nearby towns.
“The one thing I’ve got to say, tho,” Abruzzi (a doctor) noted, “is
that I have yet to see an injury that has been the result of a fight. To
my knowledge there has been no violence whatsoever, which is
remarkable for a crowd of this size. These people are really beautiful.”
 Document F
Source: “Bob Dylan at Newport Folk Festival”, Hulton Archive by Getty
Images.1965
 Document G
Source: “Anti-Vietnam War Demonstration”, National Archives and
Records Administration, Oct 22, 1967
 Document H
Source: “A New Drug Culture is Burgeoning”, The Washington Post,
Times by Nicholas von Hoffman, Aug 21, 1966.

The Berkeley drug culture and the similar one across the bay in
San Francisco, where the Psychedelic Book Shop is located, are like
nothing America has seen in the past. They have their own music,
paining, poetry, mores and group subdivisions. It is a new thing that
has no resemblance to the furtive junky, the dope pusher, the gangster
vice operations of the past.
It is not apologetic. It is evangelistic, ideological and it
proselytizes, not to hook people for money but because its members
believe that drugs are a positive individual and social good.
“People in the drug scene,” the M.A. explained, “ think it is a
revolutionary act to turn on everybody they can find. This is like a
religious movement. You knock on my door, you come into my home,
we turn on together and you see that we’re better people for having
given up all this plastic junk we’re surround with.”
A girl graduate researcher: “Everybody in my research project
turns on. It’s really surprising how people who look absolutely straight
actually turn on. Our project director is a real tweedy type, you know
with the short haircut, straight-looking and stuffy. My God, the first
time I went to his house, I couldn’t believe it!
“I walked into his living room and the shades were down,
the Rolling Stones were blaring out of a box, psychodelic lights were
flashing out of the coffee table and these guys with long hair were
huddled in the corner passing a joint (marijuana cigarette) around and
blowing their minds.”
 Document I
Source: “It’s New”, Los Angeles Times article by Patricia Nolan, June 5,
1967

Flower power can give a lift to your feet as well as your spirit. Shiny
petals go round and round to form a posie on the squared toe of a
white patent pump. The blocky little heel is just the right height to fit
fashion’s latest shoe mood. For graduation, summer parties or tripping
the sunny pavements, you’ll find the pumps at Chandler Shoe Salons,
in size 4 to 10, AA and B widths, priced $13.99
Document A:
This advertisement for the Woodstock Music Festival attracted 400,000
people from around the country to New York in 1969. This festival and
the numerous advertisements of Woodstock show the prevalence of
the hippie culture in the era. In this specific piece of advertisement, the
impulse toward rock music, enjoyment, and liberation can clearly be
seen. An observant student might also mention the cleverness of the
content of the advertisement in portraying the event. The use of the
dove bird and soft background colors really display the peaceful mood
and simplicity that the people of the emerging culture so strongly
valued.

Document B:
This amendment created in 1965 called attention to the increase in
drug use in the era. The use of LSD, marijuana and other forms of
drugs drastically escalated during the emergence of hippie
counterculture seen in the 60’s. With this amendment, the government
drew its attention to the dangers of drugs. By creating a regulation
amendment, the government under Johnson tried to limit drug use. As
a counter to the regulatory government and the efforts to decrease the
use of drugs, students could talk about the ideas of freedom and
unleashing oneself, and how these values increased and promoted
drugs. As additional information, students may mention the term
“psychedelic” and “trippy” to discuss the effect drugs, especially
hallucinatory drugs, had on a huge body of the population in America.
They can also mention the emerging conflict that came between this
“hippie” movement of drugs, rock, and sex and opponents of the trend.

Document C:
This article clearly shows the booming popularity of the hippie
movement in the 1960’s. Young people drifted towards the Haight-
Ashbury district of San Francisco. Students could write about how
Haight-Ashbury transformed into the “hippie” mecca that youth drifted
to. The pictures in the article show the ideas of peace and love that
these so-called “hippies” tried to spread. Described as a “rundown”
place, students could discuss the hippies’ impulse towards living
natural lives and getting back to basics through living in Haight-
Ashbury. This article, written in 1967 describes the shift from political
activism centered at Berkeley to a cultural growth in Haight-Ashbury.
Thompson, the writer, described the anti politics sentiment that grew
in the Haight and also the growth in drug culture. Along with this
article, students could mention the Summer of Love, the social
phenomenon in 1967 that created a cultural and political rebellion by
people deemed “hippies.” To tie this document to their papers,
students could talk about Document D, another article on San
Francisco.

Document D:
This article describes the overpopulation that the city of San Francisco
was facing because of the thriving hippie culture. People around the
country were coming to live in “hippieland” because of the prospect of
happiness and harmony. Most hippies being homeless and hungry,
caused the city to face many problems finding enough places for
hippies to eat and sleep. This article showed not only the great growth
of the culture but also a growth in the number of people entering San
Francisco. The city faced the problem of restricting the entrance of
hippies and tourists who wanted to witness the new youth culture.
Students writing on this question might say that the hippie culture,
especially in San Francisco, was not only thriving but also
overpopulating the city and causing social and environmental
problems for the rest of the residents of San Francisco. Students that
discuss Document C could extend their analysis on Haight-Ashbury by
discussing the problems that arose because of the growth in hippie
culture.

Document E:
This article helped depict the Woodstock event in 1969. The crowd of
people was massive and the popularity of hippie culture was visible
through the massive congregation of youth who came to be at peace
and to listen to folk and rock music. Around 3000 people were reported
to having either a minor or major injuries. Two people were reported
dead, one by a drug overdose and another by being accidently run
over by a tractor while sleeping in a muddy field. Most cases of illness
or injury came about because of a drug or drinking experience.
Because most people were reported to having “bad trips” and
accidental injuries while in a daze from drugs, the hippie culture of the
era can easily be seen. Interestingly enough, no one died or was
injured by violence, showing the peaceful and harmonious feeling of
the 1960’s. Students could connect this document to Document A and
reiterate the popularity of rock music and peaceful gatherings of the
time.

Document F:
This picture of Bob Dylan at the Newport Folk Festival captures the
mood of the 1960’s. Even though rock was more popular because of
the angst and rebellion it allowed youth to feel, folk music seemed to
more accurately portray the feelings of liberation and relaxation most
“hippies” felt. For this document, students could discuss how Bob
Dylan was brought to fame because of the popularity of folk music in
the era. Furthermore, they could say that Bob Dylan was actually one
of the most important figures in exciting the movement. In this picture,
he is seen soulfully playing his guitar and singing his songs to a crowd
of youth. In many of his lyrics, Dylan expressed the peace-seeking tone
that could be seen in the 1960’s. In one of his most famous songs
“Blowin in the Wind,” he asked, “Yes, 'n' how many years can some
people exist/ Before they're allowed to be free?” Dylan was such an
inspirational musician of the time that he affected millions of people,
moving them with his music and lyrics. Many of his songs became
anthems for anti-war demonstrations that were common during the
Vietnam War.

Document G:
This picture, taken in 1967, acts as a contrast to the peaceful “flower
power” attitude of the hippies. More youths can be seen at rock
concerts such as Woodstock than anti war protests. Nevertheless, this
picture shows an important part of the hippie movement. For the
hippies of the era, self-expression lay through adopting a radical
lifestyle, using hallucinatory drugs, and redefining sexuality—not so
much through politics. But, as an exception to this, many hippies
attended peaceful demonstrations to protest war or civil rights. This
picture depicts the beating of an antiwar protestor who decided to take
a stand against the war in Vietnam. Students who remember the
events of 1967-8 could mention the Tet Offensive under Lyndon B.
Johnson, which caused a lot of anger and resentment from Americans
towards the violence in Vietnam, and the increased use of the media in
portraying the war. Students could also mention the terms “be ins” and
“love ins” which were non-violent demonstrations that hippies staged.

Document H:
This article talked about the strange new world of drugs and hippies. It
described the ever-present drug revolution that was occurring in the
1960’s mostly among college students and youth in their early
twenties, but also among people that were least expected to do drugs
such as teachers. The article talked of the appeal of doing drugs,
especially of doing marijuana. In Berkeley and San Francisco, the drug
culture was booming because of its cheapness, accessibility, and
usefulness in making money. But more than money, marijuana was
used as an evangelistic experience. In this way, “turning people on”
became a religious experience. Students could use this document and
contrast it with Document B, which discusses the tighter regulations on
drugs. Along with Document C and Document D, this document could
be used to discuss the growing drug culture most notably in Haight-
Ashbury.

Document I:
In this advertisement, the shoes that were being promoted
represented a popular trend of the hippie culture. “Flower Power”
became a popular saying and the association of flowers with nature,
simplicity and even peace could be seen in these shoes. Even in the
short description below the shoes, Nolan, the creator of the
advertisement, called consumers’ attention to the flowers on the
shoes. She said that the flowers could brighten spirits and were perfect
for the mood of the 60’s. Students can easily use this document along
with Document D to discuss the influence of “flower power” and its link
to the overall feeling that the hippies were feeling.

Outside Sources:
• The political Left/New Left- community of younger Americans
who advocated for the break up of elites and racial and economic
justice
○ Students for a Democratic Society-students org. lead free
speech movement in Berkeley in 1964 and People’s Park
battle in 1969
○ Antiwar, peace marches
○ Weathermen-violent offshoot of SDS
• Impulse toward liberation-desire to express oneself (efforts seen
among African Americans, women, Native Americans, gays and
lesbians)
• Counterculture-extension over second wave of the Beatniks
• Drug culture-increased use of hallucinogen LSD and marijuana.
The word “psychedelic” emerged, denoting hallucinatory drugs
and the overall culture of “Sex, Drugs, Rock and Roll”
 • Sexual revolution-added to the liberal impulse of the era; relaxed
approaches to sexuality
• Woodstock-400,000 people congregated in New York for a music
festival
• Haight-Ashbury-neighborhood in San Francisco where a vast
population of hippies lived.
• Rock- subversive and liberating music. It was a rebuke of the
norms of the 1950’s. With its driving rhythms, rock expressed
the sensuality and anger of the period. Well-known bands
included the Rolling Stones and The Beatles
• Folk-another form of music during the 1960’s. It had a more
soulful rhythm than rock. Though it wasn’t as popular as rock, it
perfectly portrayed the feeling of the era.

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