Baby Boomers

During the Great Depression the marriage rate fell as uncertainty over economic conditions caused people to postpone decisions that would significantly affect their lives. Birthrates also dropped: pessimism shrouded Americans' expectations of a promising future for themselves and their children. After World War II ended, however, prospects seemed considerably brighter. Young Americans returned home from war in 1945 ready to reap the benefits of victory and a prospering economy. Accordingly, there were almost 2.3 million marriages in 1946, an increase of more than six hundred thousand over the previous year. Many of these newlyweds had children within a year: a record 3.8 million babies were born in 1947. This was the first year of the baby boom, which lasted for most of the 1950s. Between 1948 and 1953 more babies were born than had been over the previous thirty years. In 1954 a record birthrate, a low death rate, and an influx of 144,000 immigrants created the largest one-year population gain in U.S. history. (Thomson Gale)

In the United States, the term Baby Boomers commonly applied to people with birth years after World War II and before the Vietnam War. A large part of the cause of the Baby Boom was an after effect of World War II where the bombed out cities and fractured economies increased the needs for goods and services in unprecedented peacetime amounts. America cranked up the exports and supplied the "free world" with goods to rebuild its own economies. Furthermore, in the U.S. the G.I. Bill enabled record numbers of individuals to attend college and obtain, perhaps in most cases, the second college degree in their extended families. This led to an increase in education and granted higher incomes to families allowing them the resources to produce more children. (Wikipedia)

Experts were divided as to the potential effects of the baby boom. During the 1950s economists frequently pointed to the growing population as a safeguard against economic stagnation. Each new birth represented new demands for food, clothing, and toys. Babies were the potential market for eight hundred dollars in products in their first year. Toy sales that year reached $1.25 billion, and diaper services were a $50-million business. The American Seating Company of Grand Rapids, Michigan, a major supplier of school furniture, tripled its business in the thirteen years following the end of World War II. Clearly, each little bundle of joy was also a blessing to American businessmen. Educators warned of coming teacher and classroom shortages--crowded schools overwhelmed the educational system throughout the decade. Greater amounts of public money were needed for education, health care, and other