APUSH YAWP Chapter 26 Reading Terms

Levittown

A large suburban housing development built after World War II, known for its mass production of affordable homes for returning veterans and their families.

The GI Bill

A law passed in 1944 that provided benefits such as education and housing assistance to World War II veterans to help them reintegrate into civilian life.

Relining

The practice of racially segregating neighborhoods by drawing boundaries that restrict the sale of homes to people of color, particularly in urban areas.

Shelley v. Kraemer

A 1948 Supreme Court case that ruled racially restrictive housing covenants were unenforceable by law.

Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring

A 1962 book that raised awareness about the dangers of pesticide use and its harmful effects on the environment.

Brown v. Board of Education

A landmark 1954 Supreme Court case that declared racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional, overturning Plessy v. Ferguson.

Thurgood Marshall

The first African American Supreme Court Justice and a key lawyer in the fight against racial segregation, notably in Brown v. Board of Education.

NAACP

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, an organization dedicated to fighting racial discrimination and promoting civil rights for African Americans.

Brown II

The 1955 Supreme Court ruling that mandated the desegregation of public schools 'with all deliberate speed,' although it lacked clear enforcement.

Freedom Riders

Activists who rode interstate buses in 1961 to challenge segregated bus facilities and protest racial discrimination in the South.

Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott

In 1955, Rosa Parks’ arrest for refusing to give up her seat to a white person led to a boycott of Montgomery buses by African Americans, which became a pivotal event in the Civil Rights Movement.

Emmett Till

A 14-year-old African American boy who was lynched in 1955 in Mississippi, sparking national outrage and activism for racial justice.

SCLC and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Southern Christian Leadership Conference, founded by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., played a major role in organizing nonviolent protests for civil rights.

Baby Boom

A significant increase in the birth rate following World War II, leading to a population surge in the United States from the late 1940s to the 1960s.

Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Buddy Holly – Rock and Roll

Popular musicians who helped define the rock and roll genre in the 1950s, combining rhythm and blues with country and pop influences.

Rebel Without a Cause

A 1955 film starring James Dean that symbolized teenage rebellion and the disillusionment of post-World War II youth.

Libertarianism

A political philosophy advocating for minimal government intervention in personal and economic matters, emphasizing individual freedom.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

The 34th President of the United States (1953–1961), a former World War II general who helped shape Cold War policy and promoted suburban growth.

Richard Nixon

The 37th President of the United States (1969–1974) who escalated the Vietnam War, but later resigned in the face of the Watergate scandal.

Massive Resistance

A strategy used by Southern states in the 1950s to oppose the desegregation of public schools after the Brown v. Board of Education decision, including actions like closing schools and passing laws to resist integration.

Watergate

A political scandal in the 1970s involving a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters and a subsequent cover-up by members of President Nixon's administration, leading to his resignation in 1974.