JIGSAW GENS
Madisonians — A Legacy of Faith & Diligence
The Madisonians (“Steam Balloons” or “Bronze Hammers”) bridged together worlds of discipline and curiosity
My ongoing “Jigsaw Gens” series initially covered the eight generations born into the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries: Hemingrebels, GI-Gens, Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, GenXers, Millennials, Zoomers, and Alphas.
Predating the Hemingrebels, I’ve “worked backwards” and chronicled six generations (in reverse-chronological order) born before them: Missionaries, Stowegressives, Golden Renegades, Redeemers, Transcendentals, and Unimpressionists.
So who came before the Unimpressionists?
That group of Americans would be a pivotal age cohort to whom I refer as the “Madisonians.”
Who They Are
Madisonians were born approximately between 1764 to 1775 — give or take a few years on either end. They comprise the eldest tier of “the Compromise Generation” that’s been designated by historians William Strauss and Neil Howe, along with the absolute youngest members of “the Republican Generation” that Howe and Strauss likewise identify. That would make them a blend of the “artist” and “hero” archetypes. This generation was born…