The authors argue that the basic length of both generations and turnings—about twenty years—derives from longstanding socially and biologically determined phases of life.[who?] This is the reason it has remained relatively constant over centuries.[80] Some have argued that rapid increases in technology in recent decades are shortening the length of a generation.[81] According to Strauss and Howe, however, this is not the case. As long as the transition to adulthood occurs around age 20, the transition to midlife around age 40, and the transition to old age around age 60, they say the basic length of both generations and turnings will remain the same.[80]
In their book, The Fourth Turning, however, Strauss and Howe say that the precise boundaries of generations and turnings are erratic. The generational rhythm is not like certain simple, inorganic cycles in physics or astronomy, where time and periodicity can be predicted to the second. Instead, it resembles the complex, organic cycles of biology, where basic intervals endure but precise timing is difficult to predict. Strauss and Howe compare the saecular rhythm to the four seasons, which they say similarly occur in the same order, but with slightly varying timing. Just as winter may come sooner or later, and be more or less severe in any given year, the same is true of a Fourth Turning in any given saeculum.[82]
Generation | Archetype | Generation Birth Year Span | Entered childhood in a | Turning Year Span |
---|---|---|---|---|
Late Medieval Saeculum | ||||
Arthurian Generation | Hero (Civic) | 1433–1460 (28) | 3rd Turning: Unraveling: Retreat from France | 1435–1459 (24)[a] |
Humanist Generation | Artist (Adaptive) | 1461–1482 (22) | 4th Turning: Crisis: War of the Roses | 1459–1497 (38) |
Reformation Saeculum (97 years) | ||||
Reformation Generation | Prophet (Idealist) | 1483–1511 (28) | 1st Turning: High: Tudor Renaissance | 1497–1517 (20) |
Reprisal Generation | Nomad (Reactive) | 1512–1540 (29) | 2nd Turning: Awakening: Protestant Reformation | 1517–1542 (25) |
Elizabethan Generation | Hero (Civic) | 1541–1565 (24) | 3rd Turning: Unraveling: Reaction & Marian Restoration | 1542–1569 (27) |
Parliamentary Generation | Artist (Adaptive) | 1566–1587 (22) | 4th Turning: Crisis: Armada Crisis | 1569–1594 (25) |
New World Saeculum (110 years) | ||||
Puritan Generation | Prophet (Idealist) | 1588–1617 (30) | 1st Turning: High: Merrie England | 1594–1621 (27) |
Cavalier Generation | Nomad (Reactive) | 1618–1647 (30) | 2nd Turning: Awakening: Puritan Awakening | 1621–1649 (26) |
Glorious Generation | Hero (Civic) | 1648–1673 (26) | 3rd Turning: Unraveling: Restoration | 1649–1675 (26) |
Enlightenment Generation | Artist (Adaptive) | 1674–1700 (27) | 4th Turning: Crisis: Glorious Revolution | 1675–1704 (29) |
Revolutionary Saeculum (90 years) | ||||
Awakening Generation | Prophet (Idealist) | 1701–1723 (23) | 1st Turning: High: Augustan Age of Empire | 1704–1727 (23) |
Liberty Generation | Nomad (Reactive) | 1724–1741 (18) | 2nd Turning: Awakening: Great Awakening | 1727–1746 (19) |
Republican Generation | Hero (Civic) | 1742–1766 (25) | 3rd Turning: Unraveling: Seven Years’ War (French and Indian War) | 1746–1773 (27) |
Compromise Generation | Artist (Adaptive) | 1767–1791 (23) | 4th Turning: Crisis: Age of Revolution | 1773–1794 (21) |
Civil War Saeculum (71 years) | ||||
Transcendental Generation | Prophet (Idealist) | 1792–1821 (28) | 1st Turning: High: Era of Good Feelings | 1794–1822 (28) |
Gilded Generation | Nomad (Reactive) | 1822–1842 (21) | 2nd Turning: Awakening: Transcendental Awakening | 1822–1844 (22) |
Hero (Civic)[b] | 3rd Turning: Unraveling: Mexican–American War, Sectionalism | 1844–1860 (16) | ||
Progressive Generation | Artist (Adaptive) | 1843–1859 (17) | 4th Turning: Crisis: Civil War | 1860–1865 (5) |
Great Power Saeculum (81 years) | ||||
Missionary Generation | Prophet (Idealist) | 1860–1882 (23) | 1st Turning: High: Reconstruction, Gilded Age | 1865–1886 (21) |
Lost Generation | Nomad (Reactive) | 1883–1900 (18) | 2nd Turning: Awakening: Missionary Awakening/Progressive Era | 1886–1908 (22) |
G.I. Generation | Hero (Civic) | 1901–1924 (24) | 3rd Turning: Unraveling: World War I, Roaring Twenties, Prohibition | 1908–1929 (21) |
Silent Generation | Artist (Adaptive) | 1925–1942 (18) | 4th Turning: Crisis: Great Depression, World War II | 1929–1946 (17) |
Millennial Saeculum (75 + years) | ||||
Baby Boom Generation | Prophet (Idealist) | 1943–1960 (18)[83] | 1st Turning: High: American High | 1946–1964 (18) |
13th Generation[c] | Nomad (Reactive) | 1961–1981 (21) | 2nd Turning: Awakening: Consciousness Revolution, Fourth Great Awakening | 1964–1984 (20) |
Millennial Generation[d] | Hero (Civic) | 1982–2004 (23) | 3rd Turning: Unraveling: Neoliberalism/Culture Wars, Tech Bubble, 9/11 | 1984–2007 (23) |
Homeland Generation[e] | Artist (Adaptive) | 2005–present (16*) | 4th Turning: Crisis: War on Terror,[f] Great Recession, COVID-19 pandemic/recession[84], Climate crisis | 2008–present (13*) |