The paper examines the relationship between age cohorts and defense vo
ting behavior in the U.S. Senate. Using voting records from the 91st t
hrough 101st Congresses we argue that significant and stable differenc
es in 'hawkishness' exist among senators of different generations. The
se findings are followed by a discussion of the 'lessons of history' a
bsorbed by each cohort and an examination of the implications of gener
ational politics for U.S. defense policy.