Nineteen-fifties’ America saw an enormous increase in childbirth following the end of World War II—what we now call the Baby Boom. The Peanuts comic strip was born and grew right along with the baby boom generation. Charlie and the gang developed adult wit and intellect, but never aged past pre-adolescence, giving them timeless appeal and ageless humor. This era is often called “the golden age of American childhood” and that’s exactly what Peanuts commemorates.

After the war ended, more people were marrying, having multiple children, and doing it all at a younger age than in previous years. Many of the Peanuts characters have siblings, for example Lucy and her younger brother, Linus, or Charlie Brown and his younger sister, Sally. In combination with their parents, these fictional Peanuts characters represent the traditional nuclear family. Mom, Dad, and at least two kids, became the familial norm most associated with this era.

Lack of convenient birth control, a resurgence of the woman’s role as a mother, and popular attitudes toward childbirth are somewhat to blame for the more than 76 million births between the years of 1946 and 1964, but the overwhelming reason for the Baby Boom was economic prosperity! During World War II and in previous decades of depression, unemployment, and overall unstable economic conditions, Americans simply couldn't afford to have more children.

Schulz created a clever myriad of relatively simple interactions between average American youngsters. At first glance these comic tales bring a laugh, smile, or sympathetic grin, but a deeper look reveals the cultural, personal, and generational understanding of fifty-years of American childhood. As the comic grew older, so did the adult-like humor, but the child-like innocence and simplicity remain the key elements of the Peanuts world.