Glossary

Allen Ginsberg

Ginsberg was the leading poet of the Beat Generation. In "Howl," a prototypical Beat poem, he expressed the essential values of the Beat movement.

Beat Generation

The Beat Generation extolled values that conventional Americans abhorred. Beats scorned materialism, traditional family life, religion, sexuality, and politics. They rejected the idea of success in America.

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka

In this landmark case the Supreme Court concluded that the separate but equal doctrine established in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) produced inherently unequal facilities. The Chicago Defender hailed the decision as a "second emancipation proclamation."

Jim Crow laws

Although racism was pervasive in American society in the early 1950s, it reached its most virulent form in the Jim Crow laws that governed the everyday life of southern blacks. Southern Democrats, in particular, opposed any assault on segregation laws, which were the prevailing form of institutionalized racism.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

When white leaders failed to act quickly on the legal victories black citizens had won in the courts, Martin Luther King, Jr., assumed leadership of a new civil rights movement advocating nonviolent, direct action in an effort to end discrimination and segregation.

modern Republicanism

Eisenhower described his approach to government as "modern Republicanism" or "dynamic conservativism." He viewed himself as a liberal conservative. In practice this led the Eisenhower administration to cut federal spending but to attempt no rollback of New Deal social legislation.

NAACP

Starting in the 1940s, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) began a legal struggle against racial injustice and segregation. It moved slowly and cautiously instead of attacking segregation head-on and demanding full equality. It successfully attacked the doctrine of separate but equal.

rock and roll

This form of music appealed to American youth during the 1950s. It was an original product of a heterogeneous American society in that it combined black rhythm and blues with white country music. Its acceptance and success reflected the demographic changes that had occurred since 1940.

Sputnik

In 1957 the Soviet Union successfully placed an artificial satellite called Sputnik into orbit around earth. This accomplishment led Americans to question whether the Soviet Union was technologically superior and whether Americans values had eroded. Congress responded by appropriating more money for defense and education.

suburban threat

During the 1950s increasing numbers of American moved to the suburbs. Cultural critics claimed, however, that life in suburbia fostered mindless conformity and materialism. This "suburban threat" was explored in numerous films, novels, and articles .

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