The Origin of the "Hippie"

    The late 1940s brought the Baby Boom, a sudden explosion of birthrates created by the return of World War II veterans, their enthusiastic wives, and their readiness to continue their lives (1). Over seventy-five million children were brought into the world, creating a great imbalance in the ratio between generations. This imbalance, coupled with children's' innate resistance to authority caused their teenage rebellion to take on a mind of its own. The Baby Boomers, now teenagers collectively decided to forgo the teachings of their parents and create a culture of their own.
    Influenced by the beatnik movement of the 1950's, the Baby Boomers coined the term "Hipster" and adopted a nomadic lifestyle that preached free love and world peace (2). Hipster was soon shortened to Hippie and so the age of free love and peace began.

(1)Florian Kunkel. The Hippie Movement. http://www.florian-kunkel.de/fa.pdf. (accessed April 27, 2013)
(2)Encyclopedia Brittanica Mobile. Hippie. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/266600/hippie. (accessed April 27, 2013)