“Flower Power” was a popular term used in the 1960s and 1970s, a time of change throughout the United States. From protests against the war to protests demanding equal rights for every citizen, the 1960s were a tumultuous yet interesting time in American history for social change. Some protestors during this era were dubbed as “hippies” short for the term “hipsters.”
Coined in 1965 by acclaimed poet and voice of his generation Allen Ginsberg, “flower power” was used to inspire a movement in which anti-war demonstrators focused on positive values such as peace and love instead of brute force and rebellion in order to “fight” for freedom. The concept first came to being while Ginsberg helped to organize a protest against the Vietnam War in Berkeley, California. In his essay “Demonstration or Spectacle as Example, As Communication,” he describes a tactic using peace as a “weapon.” He suggests “masses of flowers – a visual spectacle – especially concentrated on the front lines.” He continued, “…marchers should bring harmonicas, flutes, recorders, guitars, banjos, and violins.”