The Compromise Generation is that name given to the generation of Americans born from 1767 to 1791 by William Strauss and Neil Howe in their book Generations. As Henry Clay later recalled, this generation grew up "rocked in the cradle of the Revolution" as they watched brave adults struggle and triumph. Compliantly coming of age, they offered a new erudition, expertise, and romantic sensibility to their heroic elders' Age of Improvement. As young adults, they became what historian Matthew Cremson calls "the administrative founding fathers" and soldiered a Second War for Independence whose glory could never compare with the first. In midlife, they mentored populist movements, fretted over slavery and Indian removal, and presided over the Great Compromise that reflected their irresolution. As elders during the American Civil War, they feared that their "postheroic" mission had failed and that the United States might not outlive them. Generation, also known as procreation, is the act of producing offspring. ... 1767 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1791 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Strauss and Howe (William Strauss and Neil Howe) are a duo of authors who are famous for their books on generations and history. ... Strauss and Howe (William Strauss and Neil Howe) are a duo of authors who are famous for their books on generations and history. ... William Strauss and Neil Howe in their books Generations (ISBN 0688119123) and The Fourth Turning divide Anglo-American history into saecula, or seasonal cycles of history, and divide the saecula into generations by birth year, and classify generations and historical periods into four types each. ... The American Revolution is the series of events, ideas, and changes that resulted in the revolution and ensuing political separation of thirteen colonies in North America from the British Empire and the creation of the United States of America with a new political system. ... The War of 1812 was fought between the United States and British Empire from 1812 to 1815, on land in North America and at sea around the world. ... Henry Clay takes the floor of the Old Senate Chamber; Millard Fillmore presides as Calhoun and Webster look on. ... The American Civil War (1861–1865) was fought in North America between the United States of America, called the Union and the Confederate States of America, a coalition of eleven southern states that declared their independence and claimed the right of secession from the Union. ...

The Compromisers' typical grandparents were of the Awakening Generation. Their parents were of the Liberty Generation and Republican Generation. Their children were of the Transcendental Generation and Gilded Generation; their typical grandchildren were of the Progressive Generation. The Liberty Generation is that name given by Strauss and Howe in their book Generations to those Americans born from 1724 to 1741. ... The Republican Generation is the name given to that generation of Americans born from 1742 to 1766 by William Strauss and Neil Howe in their book Generations. ... The Transcendental Generation is the name given by William Strauss and Neil Howe in their book Generations for that generation of Americans born from 1792 to 1821. ... The Gilded Generation is the name coined by William Strauss and Neil Howe in their book Generations for the generation of Americans born from 1822 to 1842. ... The Progressive Generation is a name coined by William Strauss and Neil Howe in their book Generations for that generation of Americans born from 1843 to 1859. ...

Altogether, about 4.2 million Americans were born from 1767 to 1791. 10 percent were immigrants and 15 percent were slaves at any point in their lives.

Sample Compromisers with birth and death dates as this generation is fully ancestral include the following:

• 1767 Denmark Vesey (1822)
• c. 1768 Tecumseh (1813)
• 1768 Dolley Madison (1849)
• 1769 DeWitt Clinton (1828)
• 1773 John Randolph of Roanoke (1833)
• 1774 Meriwether Lewis (1809)
• 1775 Francis Cabot Lowell (1817)
• 1777 Roger Taney (1864)
• 1777 Henry Clay (1852)
• 1780 William Ellery Channing (1842)
• 1782 Daniel Webster (1852)
• 1782 John C. Calhoun (1850)
• 1783 Washington Irving (1859)
• 1785 John Audubon (1851) (immigrant)
• 1786 Davy Crockett (1836)
• 1786 Winfield Scott (1866)
• 1787 Emma Willard (1870)
• 1788 Sarah Hale (1879)
• 1789 James Fenimore Cooper (1851)
• 1791 Samuel F. B. Morse (1872)

The Compromisers had seven U.S. Presidents: Denmark Vesey (originally Telemanque, 1767-1822) was an African American slave and entrepreneur who planned what would have been a large slave rebellion had word of the plans not been leaked. ... This 1848 drawing of Tecumseh was based on a sketch done from life in 1808. ... Madison in 1818 Dolley Payne Todd Madison (May 20, 1768 - July 12, 1849), wife of President James Madison, who served from 1809 until 1817. ... DeWitt Clinton Clinton Memorial at Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn NY DeWitt Clinton (March 2, 1769 – February 11, 1828) was an early American politician. ... Autographed portrait of John Randolph John Randolph (June 2, 1773 - May 24, 1833) was a Representative and a Senator from Virginia, USA. He was born in Cawsons, Virginia, and was known as John Randolph of Roanoke to distinguish him from relatives. ... Meriwether Lewis, portrait by Charles Willson Peale Meriwether Lewis (August 18, 1774 – October 11, 1809) was an American explorer, soldier, and public administrator, best known for his role as the leader of the Corps of Discovery. ... Francis Cabot Lowell (April 7, 1775 - April 10, 1817) was the American business man for whom the city of Lowell, Massachusetts, United States is named. ... Chief Justice Taney Roger Brooke Taney (March 17, 1777–October 12, 1864) was the fifth Chief Justice of the United States from 1836 until his death in 1864. ... Henry Clay Henry Clay (April 12, 1777 in Hanover County, Virginia – June 29, 1852 in Washington, D.C.) was an American statesman and orator who served in both the House of Representatives and Senate. ... Dr. William Ellery Channing (April 7, 1780 - October 2, 1842) was the foremost Unitarian preacher of the early nineteenth century, and along with Andrews Norton one of its leading theologians. ... Daniel Webster Daniel Webster (January 18, 1782 – October 25, 1852) was a United States Senator and Secretary of State. ... John C. Calhoun John Caldwell Calhoun (March 18, 1782 – March 31, 1850) was a prominent United States politician from South Carolina during the first half of the 19th century. ... Washington Irving Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American author of the early 19th century. ... John James Audubon John James Audubon (April 26, 1785 - January 27, 1851) was an American ornithologist, naturalist, and painter. ... Davy Crockett David Crockett (David de Crocketagne August 17, 1786 – March 6, 1836) 19th-century American folk hero usually referred to as Davy Crockett. ... Winfield Scott Winfield Scott (June 13, 1786 – May 29, 1866) was a United States Army lieutenant general, diplomat, and presidential candidate. ... Emma C. (Hart) Willard (February 23, 1787 - April 15, 1870), was an American womens rights advocate, and the pioneer who founded the first womens school of higher education. ... Sarah Josepha Hale (October 24, 1788 - April 30, 1879) was an American writer. ... Cooper portrait by John Wesley Jarvis, 1822 James Fenimore Cooper (September 15, 1789 – September 14, 1851) was a prolific and popular American writer of the early 19th century. ... Samuel F. B. Morse Samuel Finley Breese Morse (April 27, 1791 – April 2, 1872) was an American inventor and painter of portraits and historic scenes. ...

• 1767 Andrew Jackson, 1829-1837 (1845)
• 1767 John Quincy Adams, 1825-1829 (1848)
• 1773 William Henry Harrison, 1841 (1841)
• 1782 Martin Van Buren, 1837-1841 (1862)
• 1784 Zachary Taylor, 1849-1850 (1850)
• 1790 John Tyler, 1841-1845 (1862)
• 1791 James Buchanan, 1857-1861 (1868)

The Compromisers had a plurality in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1813 to 1835, a plurality in the U.S. Senate from 1813 to 1841, and a majority of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1829 to 1860. ... John Quincy Adams (July 11, 1767–February 23, 1848) was an American lawyer, diplomat, and politician. ... William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773 – April 4, 1841) was an American military leader, politician, and the ninth President of the United States. ... Martin Van Buren (December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862), nicknamed Old Kinderhook, was the eighth President of the United States. ... Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850), also known as Old Rough and Ready, was the twelfth President of the United States, serving from 1849 to 1850. ... John Tyler (March 29, 1790 – January 18, 1862) was the tenth (1841-1845) President of the United States. ... James Buchanan (April 23, 1791 – June 1, 1868) was the 15th president of the United States (1857–1861). ... 1813 is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1835 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1813 is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... take you to calendar). ... 1829 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1860 is the leap year starting on Sunday. ...

Prominent non-U.S. peers of the Compromisers include Georg Hegel, Carl Friedrich Gauss, Sir Humphry Davy, Michael Faraday, André-Marie Ampère, Augustin Louis Cauchy, Napoleon Bonaparte, Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Ludwig van Beethoven, Sir Walter Scott, and Simón Bolívar. Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (August 27, 1770–November 14, 1831) was a German philosopher born in Stuttgart, Württemberg, in present-day southwest Germany. ... Carl Friedrich Gauss (Gauß) (April 30, 1777 – February 23, 1855) was a German mathematician and scientist of profound genius who contributed significantly to many fields, including number theory, analysis, differential geometry, geodesy, magnetism, astronomy and optics. ... Humphry Davy Sir Humphry Davy (December 17, 1778 - May 29, 1829), often incorrectly spelled Humphrey, was an Cornish chemist. ... Michael Faraday Michael Faraday, FRS (September 22, 1791 – August 25, 1867) was a British scientist (a physicist and chemist) who contributed significantly to the fields of electromagnetism and electrochemistry. ... André-Marie Ampère (January 20, 1775 – June 10, 1836), was a French physicist who is generally credited as one of the main discoverers of electromagnetism. ... Augustin Louis Cauchy Augustin Louis Cauchy (August 21, 1789 – May 23, 1857) was a French mathematician. ... Bonaparte as general Napoleon Bonaparte ( 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821) was a general of the French Revolution and was the ruler of France as First Consul (Premier Consul) of the French Republic from November 11, 1799 to May 18, 1804, then as Emperor of the French (Empereur des Français... The Most Noble Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS (c. ... Ludwig van Beethoven by Carl Jäger (Date unknown). ... For the first Premier of Saskatchewan see Thomas Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott (August 14, 1771 - September 21, 1832) was a prolific Scottish historical novelist and poet popular throughout Europe. ... Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios (July 24, 1783 – December 17, 1830) was a South American revolutionary leader. ...

The cultural endowments of the Compromisers include the following:

• The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Washington Irving
• The American Democrat
• The Last of the Mohicans, James Fenimore Cooper
• "The Star-Spangled Banner", song, Francis Scott Key
• Married or Single?, Catherine Maria Sedgwick
• A Visit from St. Nicholas, Clement Clarke Moore
• The Old Oaken Bucket, Samuel Woodworth
• The First Forty Years of Washington Society, Margaret Bayard Smith
• The Value and Importance of Legal Studies, Joseph Story