Focus Years III

The Big Boom Theory: A Generational Overview

The initial years of the Boomer Generation were largely characterized by a massive change in sentiment across the United States. Why? You ask. Prior to 1946, marking the first year of the Boomer Generation, the United States went as follows World War 1, the bloodiest war in human history moved into the Great Depression. A period of economic turmoil that harshly affected the lives of every American, turned into World War 2 shortly after. Being born during this time, led to a few sentiments that could be easily seen come through many of the artifacts of this generation.

One of the biggest values that one finds in the Boomer Generation, more so than others is their value for relationships. Baby Boomers grew up together. Some grew up in or as large families, while others grew up simply as friends. Nonetheless, things such as the GI bill allowed military men to buy suburban single-family homes combined with newly written labor laws enabling people to spend more time together thus strengthening people's relationships with one another. Professor William Schneider of Emporia State University states, “Congress invested in veterans’ futures by providing them options to go to college or trade school, start a business, or purchase a home or farm. As much as any piece of legislation passed in the postwar period, the G.I. Bill helped propel thousands of veterans into the middle class” (Schneider).

This value of the relationship is especially apparent in the music of the time, with songs such as “Five More Minutes” being at the top of the music charts. This is a song about a couple in love on a date. In comparison with a lot of today’s ideologies, many of which are centered around career, hookup culture, and not having time for many meaningful relationships, it is clearly seen in our music. While during this time a picture-perfect situation would be centered around the family comprised of a providing husband, caretaking wife, and kids. In regards to kids, another artifact of the time was the book “The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care” being one of the best-selling books of the time period. With so many people having kids at this time, and relationships, including parent-to-child relationships being valued so heavily it makes perfect sense as to why the novel would be so highly regarded during this time period.

One other cultural artifact of the time period, speaks volumes to yet another large change in the sentiments of Americans at this time. That is the 1947 painting of Sojourner Truth done by Elizabeth Catlett. The civil rights Movement officially began in 1954, right in the middle of the Boomer Generation, this shows a clear change in the racial ideologies held by the previous generations in America. Rice University constructed a study on this. They stated “Baby Boomers (1946-1964) were the children of the Civil Rights Movement” (Bruce).

Boomers, as stated previously lived through a huge period of change in America. This also caused them to accept quality and excellence for all gods produced. They would also pay top dollar for goods perceived to be of high quality and worth it. This can be easily seen with any of the trends at the time. Two historical artifacts of the time that embody this sentiment of the generation were the fashion trend of the shirtwaist dress and the automobile Jeep advertisements. With the biggest early surge in Hollywood occurring at the time with movies such as “Cinderella”, and the beautiful movie stars on the silver screen wearing these dresses produced by famous designers such as Christian Dior, it was looked upon as classy and tasteful to follow the trends of what these women were wearing at the time. Regarding the Jeep advertisement, with America securing itself in the world as the major superpower after defeating the Axis Powers in World War 2, and the Jeep being the primary vehicle used in our victory, it was seen as a very high-quality piece of machinery capable of all terrains and winning a war. This is extremely evident in the research done by “Marketing Charts”, in which the two most important criteria a Boomer purchased were reliability, with 74% stating stating that is what they want in a brand, and authenticity with 54% stating that is what they looked for in a brand (Lashbrook).

Lastly, although its presence in popular culture was a bit short-lived, was the invention of the jukebox in 1948. This spoke to the hardworking, entrepreneurial spirit that is one of the major ways that the Boomers are characterized. If you wish to see specific artifacts from the overview click here.

Bond-Nelms, Cheryl. “Key Events during the Civil Rights Movement.” AARP, AARP, 23 Aug. 2022, https://www.aarp.org/politics-society/history/info-2018/civil-rights-events-fd.html.

Marketti, Anna. “Watch a Rare Frank Sinatra Performance of 'the Lady Is a Tramp'.” NPR, NPR, 19 Oct. 2016, https://www.npr.org/2016/10/19/498400425/watch-a-rare-frank-sinatra-performance-of-the-lady-is-a-tramp.

Ydp. “Ford GPW.” National Museum of World War II Aviation, 26 Aug. 2021, https://www.worldwariiaviation.org/ford-gpw/.

“Christian Dior.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 3 May 2021, https://www.biography.com/fashion-designer/christian-dior.

History.com Editors. “Great Depression History.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 29 Oct. 2009, https://www.history.com/topics/great-depression/great-depression-history#:~:text=Photo%20Galleries-,The%20Great%20Depression%20was%20the%20worst%20economic%20downturn%20in%20the,wiped%20out%20millions%20of%20investors.

History.com Editors. “Sojourner Truth.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 29 Oct. 2009, https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/sojourner-truth.

Schnieder, William. “The G.I. Bill.” Bill of Rights Institute, https://billofrightsinstitute.org/essays/the-gi-bill.