The Cause Of The Baby Boom Era

During the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries the European population grew immensely (Doc. 1). This was because there were lower death rates and more opportunities during this period. Also, one could also observe that the population increased the most in the countries that were being industrialized. Europe experienced tremendous population growth, but it was often decreased with plagues, wars, and famine. Food prices rose because there was a great need to feed the steadily increasing European population. This change fueled both the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions. With more job opportunities, the European people took advantage of having multiple children because now they could provide more for their family. These fundamental

With growing education levels, home ownership, and higher income allowed Americans to become apart of the “consumer republic.” Consumption from a home fired the postwar economy more than anything. This was caused because of the amount of houses that were sold from the nineteen-fifties to the nineteen-seventies. The industries encouraged consumers to replace their appliances and automobiles every two years. The amount of money spent on household things increased drastically since the end of World War II. The children also encourage consumption. The baby boom allowed for industries to focus on selling and advertising items for their age. The industries came up with new baby products. As the baby boomers got older the companies kept up and created more things that, that age would like and parents would buy. Along with everything else the television began to revolutionize as well.

The American birthrate exploded after World War II. The baby boom occurred from 1945 to 1961. More than 65 million children were born in the United States. This estimated that a child was born every seven seconds. There were several factors that contributed to the baby boom. First, young couples who had delayed marriage during World War II and the korean War could now marry, buy homes, and begin their families. Additionally, the government encouraged the growth of families by offering GI benefits for home purchases. Lastly, on television and in magazines, popular culture celebrated pregnancy, parenthood, and large families.

During the Great Depression, the American birth rate had fallen to an all-time low due to delayed marriages and parenthood. In the 1940's, there was a population growth of 19 million, which doubled the rise of

Advertising also played a part in the boom, these convinced people to buy their items. They exaggerated. Advertising took place on the Posters, radio newspapers, magazines and cinema, they encouraged people to buy more and more, and the families had many more items than the rest of the world. When something new had come along every one had to buy it. It was like competitions between the Americans- To see who could get the better things. Hire purchase was also introduced to enable people to have consumer goods straight away. It leads to higher

In the 1930s the population dropped to about 9 million people. After WWII the population grew rapidly reaching 19 million due to baby boomers.(AP Study Notes) The big start of the baby boom started in 1946 with 3.4 million babies being born that year. In 1947, 3.8 million babies were born and in 1952, 3.9 million were born. Every year after that until 1964, 4 million babies were born each year.

and 1964. Soldiers returning from WWII caused a rise in the birth rate of the United

Job Market: The job market for the Generation X folks started to slow, with a little bit of foreign trading starting in addition to a more diverse workforce. For the most part jobs were plentiful, but steadily starting to decline. There is/was more diversity both racially and sexually, and many laws began to be put into place for equality in the

After World War II, America saw a very large and sudden increase in population. The large population growth was a result of the victory of WWII. The soldiers who returned from war and those who didn't leave to fight, were now able to afford and support a family. Only about 6 or 7 years after the great depression and the economy was greatly improving, giving opportunity for families who delayed having children to finally have a family. People finally had the opportunity to live a full family life.

When boomer demand slams into the market place, prices soar (until the fad passes). Nothing stops the baby-boomer. There is somewhat of a bright side to all the spending and boomer traffic. Being just a few steps ahead of the boomer can make an individual very well off if you know which way they are headed. Boomers have always acted this way. Still the largest generation in the United States has been shifting markets ever since the diaper and baby food industries in the late 1940's (Geoffery 59-64). Construction of elementary facilities exploded for municipal budgets—Los Angeles was spending $1 million a week on new schools in the mid-1960's (Geoffery 59-64). After that happened, the boomer moved on abandoning a huge amount of those facilities. When younger boomers wanted cars, the Mustang and Camaro were considered a phenomenon and as the boomer herd passed so did the sales. Suburban homes in beautiful areas were next since boomers were doing the family thing. Prices on suburban homes exploded in the 80's and as usual; when the boomer left, so did the sales.

Some might say that the 1930’s and 1940’s was the greatest generation. The 1930’s started with the Great Depression the greatest economic disaster in modern history. This generation had to deal with great sacrifice. The stock market crashed and people were forced out of their homes, lost businesses, lost their jobs, and had no help from the government. People that had left the farmlands to move to the cities for employment found themselves returning to the farm to feed their families. People that were forced to leave their homes moved into parks and abandoned lands to set-up what was called Hooverville’s (Foner 2014).

After World War II, Americans experienced a time of rapid social change. American soldiers were discharged and returned home from the battlefields, hoping to find work and to get on with their lives. Marriage rate increased dramatically after the war. North American population experienced what is known as the “Baby boom” – an 18-year period of rapid population growth from 1946 to 1964. During this period, many children were born than in the same period before or after. During the post war years, the United States embarked on one of its greatest periods of economic expansion. Many Americans had enjoyed economic prosperity. However, the United States has changed since 1950.

During the Great Depression and World War II many Americans delayed marrying and having children because of the poor economy. The number of marriages and births soared after the war. Many older couples who had delayed having children began having them when the war ended. This increase in births among both younger and older American couples created the Baby Boom Generation. This large group of people born in the U.S. from 1946 to 1964 amounted to 76 million children. Those born during this time make up approximately 36% of today’s population (Deutsch). What impact has this had on the economy? Read on to see how the baby boom generation has affected the economy and what will happen as they retire.

Baby Boomers have been one of the most powerful forces in shaping the economic environment and are the wealthiest generation in the United States (Kotler and Armstrong, 2015). “In their early years, “Leading Edge” Boomers enjoyed economic prosperity, and their resulting financial power in their prime years drove rising trends in everything. However, the recessionary years of the early 1970’s also added cautionary realities to their youthful consumption and employment dreams” (“America’s Oldest Boomers”, n.d.). Baby boomers control approximately 70% of the disposable income in the United States, therefore, they are known as being one of the most influential financial forces in the marketplace (“Baby Boomers Report”, 2015). As they reach their

The baby boom of the postwar era is a real marvel to society for the simple reason that it has never happened before. Farber states that he is not sure exactly why the baby boom occurred; however, he implies that there were many factors leading to the occurrence of the phenomenon. During the 1950's seventy percent of women were married by the age of 24, and families were having an average of 3.8 children each. There are no records of a baby boom after World War I, nor were there any records of a baby boom after any major European wars. Therefore, the postwar baby boom was due to factors that had nothing to do with the war directly. It was perhaps that America was in a state of extreme prosperity, people had money, houses, back yards and appliances. They then felt it was a good time to settle down