Greatest Generation
Depression-era Americans
Greatest Generation refers to Americans who came of age during the Great Depression and fought in World War II, roughly those born between 1901 and 1927.
The term, popularized by journalist Tom Brokaw, casts this cohort as exemplars of duty, sacrifice, and resilience: My grandfather was part of the Greatest Generation.
The label implies a contrast with subsequent generations, sometimes used nostalgically or as implicit criticism of later cohorts.
- G.I. BillVeterans' education subsidy legislation
- Pearl HarborHawaiian military port attacked 1941
- D-Day1944 Normandy invasion
- NormandyNorthern French coastal region
Iwo Jima · V-E Day · V-J Day · Hiroshima · Nagasaki · Battle of the Bulge · Allies · Axis
Thirties prairie ecological collapse
- hardshipSuffering from difficult circumstances
- survivalRemaining alive against odds
- enduranceSustained effort capacity
- perseveranceSustained resolve despite obstacles
grit · fortitude · tenacity · determination · resourcefulness · make-do · mending · saving
Government debt for combat
- rationingLimiting distribution during scarcity
- victory gardensCivilian wartime food plots
- draftPreliminary version of text
- enlistmentVoluntary entry into service
home front · war widows · fallen soldiers · Purple Heart · Arlington · war orphans · privation · shortages
1946-1964 birth cohort
- suburbsResidential areas outside cities
- interstate highwaysMulti-state limited-access roads
- Social SecurityFederal old-age insurance program
- MedicareFederal senior health program
civil rights movement · space race · American Dream · middle class · homeownership · pension · retirement · oral histories
Required moral task
- honorHigh regard, moral dignity
- patriotismDevotion to one's homeland
- frugalityEconomical resource management
- self-relianceDepending on oneself alone
work ethic · stoicism · modesty · loyalty · integrity · responsibility · thrift · practicality
Tom Brokaw
- G.I. BillVeterans' education subsidy legislation
- Pearl HarborHawaiian military port attacked 1941
- D-Day1944 Normandy invasion
Normandy · Iwo Jima · V-E Day · V-J Day · Hiroshima · Nagasaki · Battle of the Bulge · Allies · Axis · Rosie the Riveter
Dust Bowl
Thirties prairie ecological collapse
- hardshipSuffering from difficult circumstances
- survivalRemaining alive against odds
- enduranceSustained effort capacity
perseverance · grit · fortitude · tenacity · determination · resourcefulness · make-do · mending · saving · canning
war bonds
Government debt for combat
- rationingLimiting distribution during scarcity
- victory gardensCivilian wartime food plots
- draftPreliminary version of text
enlistment · home front · war widows · fallen soldiers · Purple Heart · Arlington · war orphans · privation · shortages · blackouts
baby boomers
1946-1964 birth cohort
- suburbsResidential areas outside cities
- interstate highwaysMulti-state limited-access roads
- Social SecurityFederal old-age insurance program
Medicare · civil rights movement · space race · American Dream · middle class · homeownership · pension · retirement · oral histories · memorials
duty
Required moral task
- honorHigh regard, moral dignity
- patriotismDevotion to one's homeland
- frugalityEconomical resource management
self-reliance · work ethic · stoicism · modesty · loyalty · integrity · responsibility · thrift · practicality · community
- generationsbaby boomers, millennials, Gen Z, Gen X, baby boomer
- WWII EraTuskegee Airmen, code talkers, POWs, Purple Heart recipients, Holocaust survivors
- zodiacAries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo
Greatest GenerationBoomers
Named sports organization
snowflake generation · Generation Z · Gen Z · Zoomers · Generation X
great, greater, greatest, generate, generation, generations, generational, generative, generator