My blue heaven : life and politics in the working-class suburbs of Los Angeles, 1920-1965 / Becky M. Nicolaides.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Nicolaides, Becky M.

Series:

Historical studies of urban America

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Working class--California--South Gate.

Working class.

South Gate (Calif.)--Social conditions.

South Gate (Calif.).

South Gate (Calif.)--Economic conditions.

South Gate (Calif.)--Politics and government.

California--South Gate.

Physical Description:

xviii, 412 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 2002.

Summary:

In the 1920s, thousands of white working-class migrants helped build suburbs of Los Angeles such as South Gate, Watts, and Bell Gardens from the ground up, constructing their own homes with their own labor. Families raised chickens and grew gardens in their backyards, men labored long hours in nearby factories, and communities revering hard work and self-reliance were forged. With the economic prosperity that followed World War II, these blue-collar suburbs struggled to assume a middle-class identity. In their quest for the suburban good life, residents fought to preserve their neighborhoods from perceived threats of social diversification -- including working mothers, tenants, and black neighbors -- all in the name of white homeowner rights. Becky Nicolaides reveals how these political aims paved the way for the emergence of Nixon's "silent majority" and inflamed the racial enmity that erupted in the 1965 Watts rebellion. Through her exploration of these conflicts, she reminds us how suburbs have played, and continue to play, a central role in American history.

Contents:

Building independence in suburbia

Peopling the suburb

The texture of everyday life

The politics of independence

"A beautiful place"

The suburban good life arrives

The racializing of local politics.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 335-399) and index.

ISBN:

0226583007

0226583015

OCLC:

47766997