My A-Z challenge theme will be The A-Z's of Babyboomers/the Baby Boom Years.
I've always been a proud member of this special group of people. The older we get, the more special we are. We think, we're still cool - We are - still trendsetting, with older baby-boomers tapping their feet to the Rolling stones.
I loved growing up during these times. Join in, through The A-Z's of Babyboomers/the Baby Boom Years. Help yourself to some cookies and milk and let's get started.
Almost exactly nine months after World War II ended, “the cry of the baby was heard across the land,” as historian Landon Jones later described the trend. More babies were born in 1946 than ever before: 3.4 million, 20 percent more than in 1945. This was the beginning of the so-called “baby boom.”
In 1947, another 3.8 million babies were born; 3.9 million were born in 1952; and more than 4 million were born every year from 1954 until 1964, when the boom finally tapered off. By then, there were 76.4 million “baby boomers” in the United States. They made up almost 40 percent of the nation’s population.
What explains this baby boom? Some historians have argued that it was a part of a desire for normalcy after 16 years of depression and war. Others have argued that it was a part of a Cold War campaign to fight communism by outnumbering communists. Most likely, however, the postwar baby boom happened for more quotidian reasons. Older Americans, who had postponed marriage and childbirth during the Great Depression and World War II, were joined in the nation’s maternity wards by young adults who were eager to start families. (In 1940, the average American woman got married when she was almost 22 years old; in 1956, the average American woman got married when she was just 20. And just 8 percent of married women in the 1940s opted not to have children, compared to 15 percent in the 1930s.)
Many people in the postwar era looked forward to having children because they were confident that the future would be one of comfort and prosperity. In many ways, they were right: Corporations grew larger and more profitable, labor unions promised generous wages and benefits to their members, and consumer goods were more plentiful and affordable than ever before. As a result, many Americans felt certain that they could give their families all the material things that they themselves had done without.
Be There or Be Square
This slang saying was popularized in 1950s although, could of come from as far back as the mid 40's. here in the USA. Square was jazz slang for a conformist who didn't appreciate counter culture, especially jazz music. This comes from the older use of square as honest and fair (as in "square meal" and "fair and square"). The phrase remains because of its simple rhyme. and I picked it up from my parents.