The Generations of Americans

Generation
Name		TypeBirth YearsCollective
Lifecycle

Colonial Cycle

PuritanIdealistic1584-16141584-1694
CavalierReactive1615-16471615-1727
GloriousCivic1648-16731648-1753
EnlightenmentAdaptive1674-17001674-1780

Revolutionary Cycle

AwakeningIdealistic1701-17231701-1803
LibertyReactive1724-17411724-1841
RepublicanCivic1742-17661742-1846
CompromiseAdaptive1767-17911667-1871

Civil War Cycle

TranscendentalIdealistic1792-18211792-1901
GildedReactive1822-18421822-1922
No Civic Generation Emerged During the 19th Century
ProgressiveAdaptive1843-18591843-1939

Great Power Cycle

MissionaryIdealist1860-18821860-1962
LostReactive1883-19001883-1980
G.I.Civic1901-19241901-2004
SILENTADAPTIVE1925-19421925-2022

Millenial Cycle

BoomIdealist1943-19601943-2040
X (13th)Reactive1960-19811960-2061
MillenialCivic1982-20011982-2083
CyberAdaptive2002-20252004-2115
The names, dates, and typology presented here and elsewhere in this web site, except for Generation X (which is called "13th" by Strauss & Howe) and the Cyber Generation (which I coined in the belief that internet technology would strongly affect this generation), are taken directly from the book Generations: The History of America's Future, 1584 to 2069 by William Strauss and Neil Howe, Morrow and Co., 1991, passim. The Generations book has burrowed into the imaginations of a multitude of people, including a gentleman, Bill Murray, in Seattle whose web site on the topic is very much worth the visit.
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