The American Dream: A Short History of an Idea that Shaped a Nation

224 Pages·2004·3.22 MB·English

by  Jim Cullen

THE AMERICAN DREAM
    Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald on their honeymoon,
.The photo is a virtual compendium of American Dreams:house,car,
beauty,youth,talent.(Photo from the collections of the Library of Congress)
THE
AMERI CA N DREAM
e
A Short History
of an Idea That Shaped a Nation
JIM CULLEN
1

3
Oxford New York
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Copyright © by Jim Cullen
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in Publication Data
Cullen,Jim,–
The American dream :a short history of an idea
that shaped a nation / Jim Cullen.
p.cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p.) and index.
---
.United StatesCivilizationPhilosophy.
.United StatesPolitics and governmentPhilosophy.
.National characteristics,American.
.Social valuesUnited States.I.Title.
..  dc 
Book design and composition by Mark McGarry,Texas Type & Book Works
Set in Monotype Baskerville
        
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
For My Children
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You have to describe the country in terms of what you passionately
hope it will become,as well as in terms of what you know it to be
now.You have to be loyal to a dream country rather than to the one
to which you wake up every morning.Unless such loyalty exists,
the ideal has no chance of becoming actual.
Richard Rorty, Achieving Our Country,
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CONTENTS
Introduction: A Dream Country
[]
 
Dream of the Good Life (I):
The Puritan Enterprise
[]
 
Dream Charter:
The Declaration of Independence
[]
 
Dream of the Good Life (II):
Upward Mobility
[]
 Contents
 
King of America:
The Dream of Equality
[]
 
Detached Houses:
The Dream of Home Ownership
[]
 
Dream of the Good Life (III):
The Coast
[]
Conclusion:Extending the Dream
[]
Notes on Sources
[]
Acknowledgments
[]
Index
[]