Time LineBORN

YOUTH

1925

1945

1945

1965

This was the first generation to be smaller than the generation before in

U.S history. It had multiple names, from the savers and the seekers to the post war and air raid generation. The most prominent one was ‘the lucky

few’.

The lucky few

• They grew up with the most stable, parental families in American history

• Women were exposed to much more of an education than in previous generations

• Men took the greatest advantage of the gains of the century in schooling. They earned veterans benefits like the Greatest Generation(previous generation) but served mostly in peacetime with minor casualties. They came closest to full employment and started the trend toward earlier retirement. More than any other generation, Men advanced into professional and white-collar jobs.

Why were they considered so

lucky?

Women: Desiring both a career and a family

Grave

Believes in faith

Withdrawn

PossessingConfused

Morals

Expected disappointment

Savers

Men: Worked full time or went to war

Cautiou

s

Conventional

Unimaginativ

e

IndifferentAdventurous

SilentHard workers

Characteristics

MUSIC

1940s: Swing and Jazz were two new genres of music & the most popular for the decade.1950s: Music was defined by classic pop and rock n roll. Although both swing and jazz were still popular1960s: Rock, Folk rock and Bubblegum pop was introduced.Music in the 1940s-1950s really took off. Some of our most famous artist evolved at this time. People like Elvis Presley also known as The King of Rock and Roll, Frank Sinatra(I’ve got you under my skin) and Gloria Gaynor( I will survive) formed throughout the beginning of the generation. As we reached the end, musical legends such as the rolling stones, Jimi Hendrix and the Beatles formed.

Health• From the 1930s through the 1950s, state and local health

departments made a lot of progress in disease prevention activities. Such as sewage disposal, water treatment, food safety, organized solid waste disposal, and public education about hygienic practices (e.g., food handling and hand washing).

• Malaria was reduced to negligible levels by the late 1940s• A rat plague last occurred in 1924-1925 in LA. This was the last

plague their Nation has seen.• Penicillin developed for medical use in the 1940s• Viewing viruses under the electron microscope were available by

the early 1960s• Health insurance slowly started to spread throughout western

societies

Figure 1: Number of People with Health Insurance, 1940-1960

During the silent generation, there were two main films which shaped the new image of a teenager. Marlon Brandon, starring as a motorbike punch in the film The Wild One (1953) and James Dean, with a similar style in Rebel Without A Cause (1955). Both of these actors inspired the new generation of teenagers to match their behaviour, attitude and style. Jeans, leather boots and a white t-shirt became a symbol of teenage rebellion for boys everywhere.Because of all the war paranoia, a lot of movies came out based on war and science fiction.In 1940 Walt Disney also created Pinocchio.The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis was one of the most popular Television show from 1959 to 1963

TV/Movies

The features of fashion in the 1940s included an austere silhouette

with narrow hips, padded shoulders, and all manner of hats and

fancy hair styles

Fashion-1940

Fashion-195o

• Boys were inspired by New punk actors, and their tight blue jeans

and leather jackets.• Girls wore full skirts in

bright colours, with shirts tucked in to emphasise the waist and bust. Short frilly socks and neck scarf also came into fashion

This decade was slowly moving towards the hippy era and strongly influenced the 1970s.Girls wore go-go boots and box shaped PVC dresses.False eyelashes were also wore, but the 60s mainly focused on patterns and styles, over accessories.

Fashion-1960

Political

The Silent Generation grew up in the midst of the great depression, the Korean war and the holocaust, followed with many other wars and political events.Some Political leaders they had in their time were Winston Churchill, Franklin D Roosevelt, Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin. There were strong Activists because the people at the time wanted inspiration and motivation. In fact, they were describes as ‘charismatic, inspiring, idealist figureheads’ John Howard (Born 1939) is Australia's second longest serving Prime Minster from 1996 to 2007. He is part of the Silent Generation. Martin Luther King Jr. was born into this generation. He was a pastor and one of the most influencal black rights activists. He was very famous for his ‘I have a dream’ speech.

Science/Technology

At schools, scientific subject grew in popularity(such as physic) There were tremendous shifts in knowledge, especially from Newtonian physics - atomic theory, relativity, Heisenberg and medical advances.Many members of this generation went on to harness the scientific and technological advances of WWII, developing and innovating inventions which laid the groundwork for even more technological progress in the late 20th century. The Silent Generation was seen as better educated than the WWI generation because their schooling wasn't interrupted by the Depression and the war as much as the WWI Generation.

Bibliography

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm4829a1.htmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silent_Generationhttp://social.popsugar.com/History-Fashion-1940---1950-1555366http://www.youthpastor.com/lessons/index.cfm/Article-Generations_From_Silent_through_Boomer_and_X_to_Millenial_124.htm