Interbellum Generation

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article does not cite any references or sources. (July 2007)
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

Interbellum Generation is a term (derived from the Latin inter- between and bellum- war) that is sometimes used to denote persons born in the United States during the first decade of the 20th Century, often expressed specifically as the years 1901 through 1910. The name comes from the fact that those born during this time were too young to have served in the military during World War I, and were generally too old to serve as enlisted personnel in World War II, although many of them could indeed be found in the armed forces in some capacity during the latter conflict.

Members of this generation came of age either during the Roaring Twenties or the initial phase of the Great Depression, prior to the election of Franklin D. Roosevelt and the promulgation of the New Deal. This fact contributed to the core of this generation holding lifelong liberal views in politics, especially on economic issues (many of them joined Communist fronts during the 1930s), although a few prominent dissenters (such as Barry Goldwater) do stand out. Most of their children belong to the Silent Generation, and the bulk of their grandchildren can be found among Generation Jones.

Their only President of the United States was Lyndon B. Johnson, and the results of the United States presidential election, 1968 effectively marked the end of their domination of the American political landscape.