From Renaissance thinkers to digital natives, some generations have truly changed the course of history. Join us as we explore the most influential generational cohorts whose innovations, ideals, and actions reshaped our world. Which generation do you think made the biggest impact on society as we know it today?
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo and today we're counting down our picks for the most impactful legacies
00:06left behind by generations of world individuals. You TikTok fans, you just keep me going.
00:15Number 10. Millennials. Born between 1981 and 1996, we'll be kicking things off in the recent
00:21sphere with millennials. There's certainly room for debate when it comes to delineating
00:24generational attributes. Hey, we need to Instagram, snap, and tweet our asses off this
00:29weekend. We need to make the most out of being here. What? Hashtag millennial. However, it's safe
00:37to say that this generation, alongside those considered under the banner of Gen Z, are
00:41technologically savvy. The former can recall an era pre-internet, however, whereas the latter
00:46considered to be natives to 24-7 connectivity. Every business, no matter how large, no matter
00:51how small, will be on the internet in the year 2000. Millennials, as a result, can speak to both
00:55worlds with confidence. I don't think that life was better before the internet. I'm not even sure
01:02if it was worse, though. Their generation is often seen as one that cares deeply for their immediate
01:07families, as well as the world around them, seeking to leave both in a better place.
01:11You want me to be a bridesmaid? If you don't want to, I...
01:14Do you know who you're talking to? Yes.
01:17You're talking to Winnie the bitch? Yeah.
01:19I would love to be a bridesmaid! Yes!
01:21Yes!
01:22Number 9. The Glorious Generation. Born between 1648 and 1673. We, as a society, love to gently,
01:30or perhaps not so gently, needle previous generations for certain stereotypical foibles.
01:35Okay, boomer.
01:37You even know what a boomer is?
01:39You're a boomer.
01:40No.
01:41This idea is nothing new, yet still feels largely short-sighted when one thinks about just how far
01:46back the Strauss-How Generation Theory takes its data. The glorious generation has been defined
01:50as those with high-minded ideas about certain sectors of everyday life we may take for granted.
01:55Behold, the piano. But where did it come from? Meet Bartolomeo Christofori, born in 1655 in the
02:03Republic of Venice. These folks helped design and popularize ideas of insurance, as well as foregoing
02:08gold and silver for paper currency with an agreed-upon value. If you're only going to lend out gold and
02:12silver, you have to have the gold and silver to lend, and that puts a ceiling on the size of your
02:17economy, which, while not absolute, is a lot more rigid than paper.
02:21The glorious generation sought representation at a local and national level, encouraging each other
02:26to seek political offices that could incite major change.
02:30Number 8. Generation X. Born between 1965 and 1980. Change doesn't occur in a vacuum, and is often
02:36initiated via the actions of previous generations.
02:46It was a different time, is a phrase that often comes up when it comes to the laissez-faire attitude
02:51baby boomers had with regards to the raising of their Gen X kids. Those same kids obviously
02:57inherited a different world, but noticed this and made changes to their behavior.
03:00We're not gonna take it. No, we ain't gonna take it.
03:06Groundswells of LGBTQIA plus rights didn't start with Gen X, but they almost certainly normalized it.
03:12They reacted very, you know, good about it.
03:15Meanwhile, Gen X parents often sought the safety of their children at all costs,
03:19tightening the loose leash of their folks with a style that some may refer to as helicoptering,
03:24yet Gen Xers might just call it caring.
03:26You are a patronizing, sinister helicopter parent.
03:31Number 7. Baby Boomers. Born between 1946 and 1964. The old proverb of children being seen and
03:38not heard was thankfully ignored by the baby boom generation.
03:42Welcome to the hotel, California.
03:45These folks may be unfairly scapegoated today within memes and popular culture,
03:49but it's important to recognize that many boomers took active roles in their children's lives,
03:53at least in comparison to their forebears.
03:55Hey, Kevin. Remember, the word is fun.
03:59So just go on out there and what you catch, you catch, and what you miss, you miss. Okay?
04:04Okay, Nan.
04:05Baby Boomers could see things both ways, having defied the conservative wishes of their own parents
04:10during the tumultuous 60s and 70s.
04:12This made the path easier for young people to express themselves,
04:15as opposed to living under the thumb of parental rule.
04:18Can you communicate with your parents?
04:20I can communicate with them on one level,
04:24and now I've been away from home for two years, and at first it was very rough.
04:28Now they're beginning to mellow about it, you know.
04:32Boomers also pushed forward art and culture in major ways,
04:36blurring boundaries of psychedelia and political dialogue in an important and enduring manner.
04:41You can go your own way, go your own way.
04:48Number six, the Reprisal Generation, born between 1512 and 1540.
04:52It's the colonization of America by post-Erikson Europeans that unites generations such as the Puritans
04:57and Elizabethans with the Reprisal Generation of 1512 to 1540.
05:02Five hundred and two years ago, on February 15, 1519,
05:07Don Pender Menendez de Avelisse was born in Avelisse, Spain.
05:12Sailing from Spain, he landed on the shore of Florida on September 8, 1565,
05:20where he founded a new city, St. Augustine.
05:22The former's religious fervor came with them over the original 13 colonies,
05:26while the latter pushed forward trade, conquest, and the arts.
05:30Now, Sophonis is a fascinating character.
05:32She is one of the few women to attain prestige, notoriety as an artist in the Renaissance.
05:40Meanwhile, the Reprisal Generation also lived through the decline of Spain's dominant influence in Europe
05:45after their armada failed to conquer England in 1588.
05:48The Spanish found themselves in deeper waters where the already damaged fleet encountered stormy weather,
05:53which forced many ships onto rocks, destroying them.
05:57This failure helped shatter that glass ceiling and helped allow further expansion in the new world
06:01for a still very young America.
06:03Number five, Republican Generation.
06:06Born between 1742 and 1766,
06:09the fruits of the American Revolution were harvested by members of the Republican Generation,
06:13who themselves picked up the slack from the previous Liberty Generation.
06:16And now for the weather report.
06:18Mr. Jefferson of Virginia.
06:23Mr. Jefferson!
06:25Oh, present, sir.
06:26It wasn't only the United States that benefited from the Republican Generation, however,
06:30since those born during this time also earned fame in France with their own revolution.
06:34These generations sought individual independence from the monarchies of their day
06:40and embraced enlightened viewpoints of both political and sociological ideas.
06:44Stand with our brothers as they fight against tyranny.
06:47I know that Alexander Hamilton is here and he would rather not have this debate.
06:51It's important to note that the term Republicanism under this meaning
06:54denotes inspiration from ancient Rome,
06:57specifically its appreciation of a self-governing spirit,
07:00political awareness, and energetic activity for change.
07:04Number four, Missionary Generation.
07:06Born between 1860 and 1882.
07:09The struggles of America's Civil War helped define the lives of those born after its end in 1865.
07:13Oh, Heavenly Father, we want you to let our folks know that we died facing the enemy.
07:21The Missionary Generation helped to change things within a fractured United States still healing during Reconstruction.
07:26Crusades for social change occurred under their watch for women's rights, union strength, and assistance for minorities.
07:32It dawned upon me with a certain suddenness that I was different from the others,
07:38or like may have in heart and life and longing, but shut out from their world by a vast veil.
07:46Education was valued, as was religious faith, with teetotalism influencing the movement for prohibition.
07:52President Roosevelt's New Deal and the establishment of social security was a byproduct of the missionaries,
07:57a generation with strong and sometimes controversial opinions about how things should be run.
08:01This social security measure gives at least some protection to 30 millions of our citizens.
08:10Number three, The Gilded Generation.
08:12Born between 1822 and 1842.
08:15There is no perfect generation.
08:17The ideals and actions of any generation is subject for debate when it comes to its long-standing legacy.
08:21It was a fractious time in which a sense of desperation amidst growing wealth was emerging.
08:32The Gilded Generation desired material goods and were willing to do whatever it took to achieve a life
08:37free from fanatical devotion to religious or educational institutions.
08:41We are the rich, one party-goer remarked.
08:44We own America.
08:46We got it, God knows how.
08:48But we intend to keep it if we can.
08:51It would be young members of the Gilded Generation that fought in America's civil war
08:55and saw the abolishment of slavery during their lifetimes.
08:58The speaker may vote if he so chooses.
09:00It is highly unusual, sir.
09:02This is unusual, Mr. Pendleton.
09:04This is history.
09:05Railroads flourished and the U.S. saw a massive influx of immigrants.
09:09This Gilded Age saw a growing disparity between the rich and the poor, however,
09:13with wages increasing exponentially for some while remaining a moot point for the rest.
09:18Number two, The Greatest Generation, a.k.a. the G.I. Generation, born between 1901 and 1927.
09:25It's some moniker, isn't it?
09:26The Greatest Generation.
09:28Many of those born during this era probably didn't believe as kids that their generation would amount to much.
09:33I have memories of the landlord coming in and saying,
09:36Mrs., where's the rent?
09:38And my mother would say, tomorrow.
09:39A generation raised during America's Great Depression, when food, jobs, and resources were scarce.
09:44It would be adults from the Greatest Generation that would achieve fame due to their dubious distinction
09:48of being draft-aged during the Second World War.
09:51All able-bodied men between 21 and 30 must register for military service.
09:56Soldiers from this generation had to become heroes,
09:59putting their lives on the line in defense of freedom against the tyrannical Axis powers.
10:02And if we call you a hero...
10:05No, I'm not the hero.
10:07I'm here to tell you that the heroes are buried over here.
10:12That said, many children of the Greatest Generation have come out in recent years
10:16to reveal the trauma of being raised by strict parents who endured too much, too young, and paid the price.
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10:38Number 1.
10:39The Humanist Generation
10:40Born between 1461 and 1482
10:43This is only the second generation to be explored within Strauss and Howe's theory.
10:48Just after the Arthurian generation...
10:50The movement came to be known as humanism because of its emphasis on the human mind and body.
10:55The humanist generation was responsible for some of history's greatest artists and thinkers.
11:00From Michelangelo in Italy to Poland's Copernicus to Sir Thomas More of England.
11:04This country is planted thick with laws from coast to coast.
11:07Man's laws, not God's.
11:08And if you cut them down and you're just the man to do it,
11:11do you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then?
11:15The hardships of a life lived during the Middle Ages was notably brightened with the Renaissance
11:20and many members of the humanist generation would teach or promote artistic endeavors.
11:25The methods artists and educators used in the Renaissance were driven by the skill of human observation.
11:30Quality of life was favored by humanists,
11:32which was a refreshingly optimistic outlook during an age where virtually nothing,
11:36not even tomorrow, was guaranteed.
11:39Did you learn anything new about any generation that may have changed any of your preconceived notions?
11:43Let us know in the comments.
11:44How are you feeling about your baby being part of Generation Beta?
11:48I think it's pretty exciting that, you know,
11:51my child will be born in like the second quarter of the century.
11:55And I wonder how advances in technology and culture will impact, you know, his life.
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