Upside

6

The Still Quiet Silent Generation

THE BIGGEST STORY about the Silent Generation is its size, or lack thereof. Born 1925–1944, its members were several million smaller by birth than the G.I. Generation, and their numbers did not really experience much of any increase due to immigration. While native-born G.I. Generation numbers were bolstered by about 14 million immigrants, immigration into the ranks of the Silent Generation was muted by stricter immigration laws, the Great Depression, and then World War II. In fact, legal immigration only added about 3 million people to the U.S. population during the Silent Generation birth years, and the majority of these immigrants likely provided the most boost to the ranks of the G.I. Generation. Immigration ...