The Baby Boom (1946 to NOW) What was the Babyboom and who are the “boomers”? As is often the case after a major war, the end of World War II brought a baby boom to many countries, notably those in Europe, Asia, North America, and Australia. There is some disagreement as to the precise beginning and ending dates of the post-­‐war baby boom, but the range most commonly accepted is 1946 to 1964. In the United States alone, approximately 76 million babies were born between those years. In 1946, live births in the U.S. surged from 222,721 in January to 339,499 in October. By the end of the 1940s, about 32 million babies had been born, compared with 24 million in the 1930s. In 1954, annual births first topped four million and did not drop below that figure until 1965, when four out of ten Americans were under the age of twenty. In May 1951, Sylvia Porter, a columnist for the New York Post, used the term "boom" to refer to the phenomenon of increased births in post war America. She wrote: Take the 3,548,000 babies born in 1950. Bundle them into a batch, bounce them all over the bountiful land that is America. What do you get? Boom. The biggest, boomiest boom ever known in history. Causes: The men came home, and many Americans had been storing money throughout
the war. The ideal home, family, and lifestyle were in reach for millions…
Prior to the Baby Boom, there was a period of
approximately 20 years in which having children
was difficult due to the effects of the Great
Depression and World War II. The Baby Boom
reflected the sudden removal of economic and
social restraints that kept people from starting
families. While austerity and restraint were the
norms during the stress of the war years, after the
war, couples reunited and returned to traditional
roles. Returning (mostly male) soldiers re-entered
the workforce; many women left wartime work to
concentrate on traditional child-bearing and childrearing. Marriage became again a cultural and
career norm for most women, and the result was
an increase in the birth rate.
In the United States, the Arsenal of Democracy of
the late 1930’s significantly increased production
of goods and materials for export to war-ravaged
Europe. This pre-US-war production brought the
U.S. out of the Depression, and American
workers—shell-shocked from the Depression—
nervously banked much of their new money.
When the U.S. entered WWII, men banked their
military pay for years, unable to spend it while
fighting the war. At home, citizens faced rationing
on all goods, so they too were forced to bank their
money. After the war, the U.S. kept up high
production to fund the rebuilding of both allied
and defeated enemy countries. Thus, the country
experienced an unprecedented bubble of
vigorous economic growth that did not slow down
until 1958. Furthermore, in the U.S. the G.I. Bill
enabled record numbers of people to attend
college and obtain, in most cases, the first college
degree in their extended families. This increase in
education granted higher incomes to families,
allowing them the resources to support more
children.
Beginning & end of boomer births:
In the United States, demographers have put the generation's birth years at 1946 to 1964,
although the U.S. birthrate (per 1,000 population) began to decline after 1957.
Why did it end?
- Some believe that the economic slowdown of 1958 was a contributor.
- Many can point to simple time and biology. The “Greatest Generation” had come home
from war fifteen years earlier, they were hitting their 40’s, and most people don’t
continue having kids at such ages.
- Others believe the advent of the birth control pill in 1960 in the U.S. also contributed to
the slowing birth rate, as previous contraceptive methods were less popular or reliable.
over… IMPACT of the Baby-boomers:
Seventy-­‐six million American children were born between 1945 and 1964, representing a cohort that is significant on account of its size alone. Boomers comprise nearly 28% of the adult US population. In 2008, the UK baby boomers held 80% of the UK's wealth and bought 80% of all top of the range cars, 80% of cruises and 50% of skincare products. A New Lifestyle: Babyboomers were reared in new neighborhoods just outside of cities, called “suburbs.” No tall buildings and teaming city blocks, but street after street of nice houses, lawns, kids on bikes, and barbeques. The baby boomers were the first group to be raised with televisions in the home. Starting in the 1950s, people in diverse geographic locations could watch the same shows, listen to the same news, and laugh at the same jokes. Television shows such as Father Knows Best and Leave it to Beaver showed idealized family settings. Later, television brought boomers scenes from the space race, the Vietnam War and the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy. The boomers found that their music, most notably rock and roll, was another expression of their generational identity. Rock & Roll rose from black artists (like Little Richard) and moved to whites like Bill Haley, and finally was epitomized in Elvis Presley. Most adults (the establishment) found such music and the gyrating displays of the singers appalling. In parts of the US, Elvis and others were banned, and on all TV appearances, studio cameras only showed Elvis (nicknamed by some as “Elvis the pelvis”) from the waist up, so as not to show his excitable legs and hips. Hollywood cashed in on the boomer mood of the educated rebellious youth that was looking to show off new trends and attitude. In the 1950’s, movies about youth made studios big money new stars, such as “Rebel Without A Cause” starring James Dean, and a young Elvis-­‐looking Marlin Brando in “A Streetcar Named Desire.” Motorcycles, leather, the term “cool” were invented as cultural icons in these movies. Brando used the term, “Daddy-­‐o” to put down disapproving, stodgy adults (the establishment). In the 60’s there was the film “The Graduate,” which lampooned what the establishment had to offer a young, smart 22-­‐year-­‐old college grad (Dustin Hoffman), and how “square” and droll the young graduate viewed his future if he followed in the footsteps of his parents’ generation. The number one national bestseller of the late 50’s to those under age 30 was On The Road by Jack Kerouac. Picking up on the feelings of “The Graduate,” Kerouac hit the road on a motorcycle and toured the country, hitting all major highways and back roads, meeting young and old, visiting with folks in diners, gas stations, parks. He met and tried to understand all sorts of characters, all ages. He had no schedule, no plan, just saw the great American people that were out there, took it easy, and encouraged everyone to do the same. Kerouac’s musing in On The Road told of his disdain for the 9-­‐to-­‐5 jobs, mowing the lawn of one’s little house, and raising a nice little family of 2.5 kids. Kerouac preached that there was more to see and do than that. Impact on history and culture One of the contributions made by the Boomer generation appears to be the expansion of individual freedom. Boomers often were associated with the civil rights movement, the feminist cause in the 1970s, gay rights, handicapped rights, and the right to privacy. Baby boomers presently make up the lion's share of the political, cultural, industrial, and academic leadership class in the United States. Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, born within sixty days of each other in mid-­‐1946, are the first and second Babyboomer U.S. presidents, and their careers in office illustrate the wide, often diverging, spectrum of values and attitudes espoused by this largest American generational group to date. In 1967 Time magazine made the Baby Boom Generation its "Man of the Year." Never before in history had youth been so idealized as they were at that moment.” When Generation X came along it had much to live up to and to some degree has always lived in the shadow of the Boomers.