The term ''Woodstock Nation'' refers specifically to the attendees of the original 1969 Woodstock Music and Arts Festival that took place from August 15–17 on the farm of

Max Yasgur Max B. Yasgur (December 15, 1919 – February 9, 1973) was an American farmer who was the owner of a dairy farm in Bethel, New York, where the 1969 Woodstock musical festival was held from August 15–18, 1969. He sold his farm in 1971 and ...

near

Bethel, New York :''This is the article about the Sullivan County, New York town. For the Dutchess County, New York hamlet, see Bethel, Pine Plains'' Bethel is a town in Sullivan County, New York, United States. The population was estimated at 4,255 in 2010. The ...

. It comes from the title of a book written later that year by

Yippie The Youth International Party (YIP), whose members were commonly called Yippies, was an American youth-oriented radical and countercultural revolutionary offshoot of the free speech and anti-war movements of the late 1960s. It was founded on ...

activist Abbie Hoffman, describing his experiences at the festival. More generally, however, the term is used as a catch-all phrase for those individuals of the

baby boomer Baby boomers, often shortened to boomers, are the Western demographic cohort following the Silent Generation and preceding Generation X. The generation is often defined as people born from 1946 to 1964, during the mid-20th century baby boom. ...

generation in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

who subscribed to the values of the American counterculture of the 1960s and early 1970s. The term is often interchangeable with hippie, although the latter term is sometimes used as an oath of derision. The characteristic traits of members of the Woodstock Nation include, but are not limited to, concern for

the environment The natural environment or natural world encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally, meaning in this case not artificial. The term is most often applied to the Earth or some parts of Earth. This environment encompasses t ...

, embracing of

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

political causes and issues allied to a strong sense of

political activism Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fr ...

, eschewing of traditional

gender roles A gender role, also known as a sex role, is a social role encompassing a range of behaviors and attitudes that are generally considered acceptable, appropriate, or desirable for a person based on that person's sex. Gender roles are usually cent ...

, vegetarianism, and enthusiasm for the music of the period. The Woodstock Nation also counts as members individuals from later

generational cohorts A generation refers to all of the people born and living at about the same time, regarded collectively. It can also be described as, "the average period, generally considered to be about 20–⁠30 years, during which children are born and gro ...

, as the underground cultural values and attitudes of 1960s

bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

communities such as

Haight-Ashbury Haight-Ashbury () is a district of San Francisco, California, named for the intersection of Haight and Ashbury streets. It is also called The Haight and The Upper Haight. The neighborhood is known as one of the main centers of the counterculture ...

and

Laurel Canyon Laurel Canyon is a mountainous neighborhood in the Hollywood Hills region of the Santa Monica Mountains, within the Hollywood Hills West district of Los Angeles, California. The main thoroughfare of Laurel Canyon Boulevard connects the neighb ...

have seeped ever more into the mainstream with the passage of time.

External links

Woodstock Nation Foundation
{{Woodstock Hippie movement Woodstock Festival