Date of Award
12-2006
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.A.
Degree Program
History
Department
History
Major Professor
Hirsch, Arnold
Second Advisor
Mizell-Nelson, Michael
Third Advisor
Powers, Madelon
Abstract
In December of 1966 the United States government decided to place a $375 million atomic accelerator in the all-white, rural town of Weston, Illinois. The small town was located 30 miles west of Chicago, within an affluent suburban county named DuPage. Residents of DuPage were thrilled to receive the atomic installation because it would spark new economic growth in the area. However, the National Committee Against Discrimination in Housing (NCDH) immediately protested the approval of the Weston site. They opposed the site choice because of a documented history of racial housing discrimination in and around Weston. In 1967, the NCDH hoped to utilize the Cold War scientific research plant as political leverage to abolish racial housing discrimination in suburban Chicago. This study argues that the eventual failure of the NCDH’s Weston protest illustrates the limits of the federal fair housing policy changes during the late 1960s.
Recommended Citation
Mattingly, Ryan, "Fair Housing Goes Nuclear: In Suburban Chicago the Cold War Meets a Civil Rights Protest in 1967" (2006). University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations. 494.
https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/494
Rights
The University of New Orleans and its agents retain the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible this dissertation or thesis in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. The author retains all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis or dissertation.