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Greatest Generation

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Social generations of the Western world

The G.I. Generation in the United States (also known as the WWII Generation, and The Greatest Generation), or the Federation Generation in Australia, is the demographic cohort following the Lost Generation. There are no precise dates for when this cohort starts or ends; demographers and researchers typically use the early 1900s as starting birth years and ending birth years in the mid-1920s.

Definition

This generation experienced much of their youth during rapid technological innovation (radio, telephone) amidst growing levels of worldwide income inequality[1][2][3] and a soaring economy.[4][5][6] After the Stock Market crashed, this generation experienced profound economic and social turmoil, which eventually culminated in World War II.

Demographers William Stauss and Neil Howe coined the term "G.I. Generation" in their 1991 book Generations: The History of America's Future[7] and use 1901–1924 as birth years.[8] The initials "G.I." of "G.I. Generation" is military terminology referring to "Government Issue" or "General Issue". This cohort is also referred to as the "World War II Generation".[9]

McCrindle Research expanded on Howe's work and uses the term Federation Generation to describe Australian members of this cohort, born between 1901–1924, "a time of peace when Australia finally secured nationhood" who came of age during The Great Depression and WWII and experienced post-war prosperity in midlife.[10][11]

Pew Research Center defines this cohort as being born from 1901 to 1927.[12]

The term The Greatest Generation, which is a term sometimes used to refer to the US members of this cohort, comes from the title of 1998 book by American journalist Tom Brokaw. In the book, Brokaw profiled American members of this generation who came of age during the Great Depression and went on to fight in World War II, as well as those who contributed to the war effort on the home front. Brokaw wrote that these men and women fought not for fame or recognition, but because it was the "right thing to do."[13]

Notable figures

Actors and entertainers

Authors

Visual artists

United States presidents

Turkish Premiers

Businessmen

Religious figures

Notable politicians

Athletes

See also

References

  1. ^ "Striking it Richer" (PDF). eml.berkeley.edu.
  2. ^ "U.S. income inequality, on rise for decades, is now highest since 1928". 5 December 2013.
  3. ^ "5 facts about economic inequality". 7 January 2014.
  4. ^ Granados, José A. Tapia; Roux, Ana V. Diez (13 October 2009). "Life and death during the Great Depression". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 106 (41): 17290–17295. doi:10.1073/pnas.0904491106. PMID 19805076 – via www.pnas.org.
  5. ^ "Economy in The 1920s". www.shmoop.com.
  6. ^ George H. Soule, Prosperity Decade: From War to Depression: 1917–1929 (1947)
  7. ^ Strauss, William; Howe, Neil (1991). Generations: The History of America's Future, 1584 to 2069. Harper Perennial. ISBN 9780688119126. p. 335
  8. ^ Howe, Neil (30 July 2014). "The G.I. Generation and the "Triumph of the Squares"". Forbes. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  9. ^ "The Greatest Generation". Investopia. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  10. ^ Generations Defined. Mark McCrindle Archived 2016-06-16 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ McCrindle, Mark. "The ABC of XYZ Understanding the Global Generations" (PDF). McCrindle Research. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
  12. ^ "Americans Name the 10 Most Significant Historic Events of Their Lifetimes". People Press. 15 December 2016.
  13. ^ The greatest generation - Tom Brokaw - Google Boeken. Books.google.com. 1998. ISBN 9780375502026. Retrieved 2013-12-16.


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