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

by Jim Cullen

"The American Dream" is one of the most familiar and resonant phrases in our national lexicon, so familiar that we seldom pause to ask its origin, its history, or what it actually means. In this fascinating short history, Jim Cullen explores the meaning of the American Dream, or rather the several American Dreams that have both reflected and shaped American identity from the Pilgrims to the present. Cullen notes that the United States, unlike most other nations, defines itself not on the facts of blood, religion, language, geography, or shared history, but on a set of ideals expressed in the Declaration of Independence and consolidated in the Constitution. At the core of these ideals lies the ambiguous concept of the American Dream, a concept that for better and worse has proven to be amazingly elastic and durable for hundreds of years and across racial, class, and other demographic lines. The version of the American Dream that dominates our own time--what Cullen calls "the Dream
of the Coast"--is one of personal fulfillment, of fame and fortune all the more alluring if achieved without obvious effort, which finds its most insidious expression in the culture of Hollywood.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History, Philosophy, Economics, Cultural Studies, The United States Of America

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Jonathan Terrington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dreaming up America

History is a fascinating area of study, although it is often too much divorced from the literature and established media created in its specific sectors. The most fascinating aspect to history to my mind is how history reflects upon the here and now - that like quality literature it reflects upon humanity. There are some who would argue that history is water under the bridge - to use an idiomatic phrase - and yet why is it that in our modern times we so often find ourselves repeating, insanely, the mistakes of the past?

What Jim Cullen aims to do in this work of historical narrative - popular history - is to record how the concept of the American Dream has shaped American history in particular. For a short book, in terms of page count, Cullen packs plenty of detail, description and thought into his argument. Some might find it too personal to call it a true historical account but I would counter this thought with the fact that history is nothing if not a creation of multiple personal accounts. What Cullen simply does is write his own personal thesis in regards to that and as such creates a work of scholarly debate that most individuals could read.

In the opening to this work Cullen quotes from John Adams, a historian - popular many decades ago - who wrote of “that American dream of a better, richer and happier life for all our citizens of every rank, which is the greatest contribution we have made to the thought and welfare of the world.” Cullen notes that prior to Adams' use of the term in the 1930s there seems to have been no use of the phrase 'American Dream' in popular culture and yet since there has been a major blossoming and use of the phrase. It was prior to this, Cullen argues, a subconscious dream - one understood and culturally centred but not visibly named.

"One of the greatest ironies - perhaps the greatest - of the American Dream is that its foundations were laid by people who specifically rejected a belief that they did have control over their destinies."

Jim Cullen begins his narrative with a look at the Puritans. His argument could be seen as repetitive and wordy (as throughout) but his writing has a personable touch to it and draws in the reader, regardless of length. That aside, his style is also quite elegant, though he admits openly that he is unabashedly a supporter of the Puritans - not in line with popular veins of thought. The reason for this he states is found in the American Dream. Essentially, Cullen's argument boils down to the sense that the American Dream is made of multiple dreams and the Puritans themselves had a dream for freedom which defined America - that from the beginning freedom helped create this new country.

Likewise, when Cullen moves toward the Declaration of Independence and the American Civil War he also notes the dreams involved in regards to freedom. There were individuals who clearly believed they had freedom already and had to learn that they did not in order to dream for freedom and there were others - slaves - who had no freedom and therefore dreamed of it.

Equality, however, is different to freedom. This is one of the best points I have heard raised around this topic and the American Dream when Cullen talks about the Dream, slavery and also references the hardships of women. Martin Luther King Jnr. reappears, as is inevitable when talking about dreams and American creeds. Cullen makes the point that reaction to Martin Luther King Jnr. has been mixed throughout history (and not simply for racial reasons) - pointing out his reported character flaws. That said, Cullen stands firm in indicating how for all his faults Martin Luther King Jnr. had a dream and he tried his hardest to live by it and for that deserves respect.

One of the final dreams Cullen touches on is the dream of house ownership and the capitalist success associated with this. He notes how it has long been a dream for individuals to make their mark on a land area or site and to somehow gain something from that. Legacy seems to be a huge thing in regards to humans since we live such short lives compared to our world itself. So to make our mark seems in many regards to be the perfect act of defiance. There is the darker side in regards to capitalism and commercial success that Cullen touches upon however.

“One of the principal attractions of the American Dream, and its major moral underpinning, is that everyone is eligible.”

It has long been noted by historians as to the existence of what are called 'Robber Barons'. Those wealthy entrepreneurs and men who cheated the system. Those content to stay rich and in their luxury while the world burned around them. The American Dream, Cullen points out, helped to contribute to this. With everyone being eligible for the Dream it can be argued that everyone can in theory become equal and rise to the same success as anyone. Of course we understand, Cullen notes, that in practicality people want supremacy: not equality.

In the end, Cullen's argument seems to boil down to an interesting mix. On one hand he notes that there is much good in regards the overall picture of the American Dream. At the same time he notes that the American Dream can so easily become the American Nightmare when believed in to the point of excluding others in life. It can be so easy, it is suggested, for the Dream to become a simple form of reification - or a complex one if need be. Cullen's suggestion, therefore, is that individuals should learn that the Dream in its modern form allows for humans - particularly Americans - to ask the difficult moral questions, with the Dream existing (or should exist) as a moral framing device.

My experience of the American Dream

Each nation across the world has its own particular symbolic aspects to history I have noted. Aspects that they hold onto currently. Australia also has her own particular history, a history connected to the legend of the ANZACS and the firm belief in mateship and community. These historical mythologies have turned Australia into what she is now and affect all her citizens unconsciously. I know of these ideas and yet I could not say how much they have shaped me, save to say that the particular Aussie brand of laconic good nature and humour have long been part of my world as have particular perspectives in life.

So, when I made the trip to the United States three weeks ago, for the purpose of studying about the American Dream I thought about American culture through this kind of lens. I thought about how it could be that the American Dream shapes American society to a similar degree as my history. To an extent I believe I was right, but to another extent I believe I was wrong.

American culture has its own particular flavour. It is a much older nation than my own and the locations and cities exude that sense of having been lived in - of having been 'civilised' for longer. Australia has a sense of history, but it is to be found in the natural wilderness and in the sacred artwork of its Indigenous communities, not in the cities and towns. Yet I feel I can state that the American Dream has defined and shaped America to a large extent.

Mentioning the phrase to many individuals, we found that the answer as to what the American Dream was, returned similar results: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness was obviously Jefferson's way of putting it and it has resonated through the ages. Now people might say it as 'the opportunity to be whatever you want' but they mean more or less the same thing. And though they may believe it is a symbolic idea, the American Dream to me is as alive as Jim Cullen references.

Though he did not touch on the baseball or on broadway I believe through my visits to both events it is visibly active there. I believe you can see it when you walk into a fast food store or cinema. I believe you can see it in people walking down the street. One massive group of people living in a city and several dreams all connected to the one American Dream - to have a better life. After all, dissatisfaction is one thing that all humans - I believe - have in common. Why else are superhero or rags to riches stories so popular: dissatisfaction.

I admit that while we were over in the states we met Jim Cullen personally. I had read part of his work already and he struck me exactly as his writing came across: affable, friendly, academic but not in a distant sense. He was undoubtedly an intellectual type, but one who was more concerned with connecting modern ideas such as media and social enterprises etc. with history. In fact one of his books is all about how actors are historians in a sense. We did get to hear from him in regards to the American Dream and a reading from a work he was currently writing. He also signed my book.

But of most importance was what I particularly took away from that session. Though the American Dream has a specific American flavour, it still affects me. We have our own national dreams and beliefs. We have our own ways of living life. But we still draw from American authors and television shows. We still buy into American advertising - which uses the language of the dream. Because essentially there is something so human about dreaming and I think that through our shared sense of dreaming the American Dream becomes part of the Global Dream.

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

As the subtitle suggests this book is the history of an idea and Cullen traces the idea of the American Dream from the Puritans to Hollywood. In the process he delves into American history that is at once familiar and yet obscure because it is being viewed through the lens of this particular idea. And here is Cullen summing things up:

What makes the American Dream American is not that our dreams are any better, worse, or more interesting than anyone else's, but that we live in a country constituted of dreams, whose very justification continues to rest on it being a place where one can, for better or for worse, pursue distant goals.

[Lindsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting look at the history of American thought, especially regarding the American dream. It was nice to see someone actually look at the idea that the dream is often holding us back through our dedication to possible advancement. We get so caught up in the possibility that we might eventually maybe get somewhere that we don't allow for anything to change. We want to protect the status quo that favors those who got ahead because we might be able to get ahead. It was interesting to see the way Cullen traced the development of this mindset and the way that it affected history.

[Nordy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Any American Lit/US History teachers should read this book. It breaks down the evolution of the American Dream. I could see this as summer reading for APUSH and I plan on using the chapters about upward mobility with Gatsby. Non-AP classes might have a hard time reading an entire chapter, but selections would help clarify the concept of the "American Dream" and pair well with Raisin in the Sun, Grapes of Wrath, etc.

[Rasma Haidri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly intelligent yet accessible, even to one who avoided (by hook or crook) history in high school.

[John Galluzzo · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author traces the concept of the American Dream from the Puritans to the modern day, touching on the Declaration of Independence, upward mobility, home ownership and more.

I agree with the author. The topic is certainly one worth researching, ruminating upon and writing about. Apparently, according to his own notes in the book, some of the academics to whom he spoke said he was dealing with a topic unworthy of a historian's time.

Phooey. Let's move on.

The American dream is, of course, personal in nature. Is it truly possible to trace the idea's history? Yes, in general terms. While not every Puritan may have had the same exact dream, they all had a general one: freedom from religious persecution. How they further interpreted that notion individually could fill a volume unto itself. But the author chose to follow the dream over time, through Thomas Jefferson's ideals to Abraham Lincoln's birthplace, to Plessy vs. Ferguson, to Martin Luther's King's assassination. The same strains can be followed: a place of our own, personal freedom, the chance to grow unbound by the repressive forces of governments.

Comedian Eddie Izzard once commented that the American dream is to make all the money in the world, stick it in your ears and blow raspberries at people. An interesting image, and not that far from the truth. Cullen states that a current general dream includes moving to the coast, particularly California, and making money without effort (i.e. being "found" in Hollywood). There's no doubt that many, many Americans think this way. Maybe Eddie Izzard is right.

The follow-up question to the book must be this one: has America filled the bill? Is it in actuality a place where one person can dream, and reach heights unachievable elsewhere in the world? Does it offer the freedoms for which we've always strived ("we" being a strange term in itself, used by everyone from the first settlers to last week's immigrants)? Or does that change with each presidential election?

Whatever the answer, I know I have my dream, and that thus far the only thing holding me back from reaching my goals is me. I believe in my personal version of the American dream.

[Chrissy's Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

The American Dream was an interesting read. It covered a short amount of pages and summarized 'The American Dream' quite well. From the Puritans, to the civil rights movement, to equality, and to ‘The Good Life’ of the Californian coast with it’s Hollywood appeal. My only negative comment is I did get the sense that Cullen sort of over-glorified the Puritans and Founding Fathers. I also would have liked to read a bit more about the Native Americans, but I do understand that this is a book about The American Dream and how it came to be. All in all, not a bad overview of 'The American Dream'.

To check out my full review of The American Dream, click the links below:

Chrissy's Books Full Written Review

Chrissy's Books YouTube Review

[Hope H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This little poignant book is more than it appears. It encapsulates Americana splendidly. While it is historical in context, its presentation conveys a respectful way of bringing the iconic moments of what makes America, America; understandable to all. The author, as an academic scholar, has taken care to present the moments of U.S. history in a format that is readable to anyone interested in American History.

It is well written and interestingly midbrow enough that we everyday folks can find it very informative beyond what we read in school textbooks or on our Internet searches. It is also packaged cleaverly as it is a soft, light book if you choose it physically rather than digitally.

Overall: A quick, informative read.

[Minh · Rating 5 out of 5]

A full explanation of American Dream that anyone can fulfill their dreams if work hard. The most interesting part for me is gambling culture which of the American Dream. The gambler put everything they got to the game not to win or lose but try to gain as much as they can. The real part is gambling not winning a moment of half second before winning or losing are decided. This gambling culture suit me as which I want my life to be. And our mission today is to keep the American Dream alive by working with the spirit of a Puritan.

[Affad Shaikh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful read on the conceptual development of the American Dream. I was surprised to learn the integral way "race and white identity" fed into a limited, narrowly defined variation of the American Dream which would be expanded, shared, and exported at various times to support various ends of American policy. I think this is a great book to start with if there is a desire for a serious investigation and mediation about the American Dream today and in the future.

[Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

ummmmm this is very clearly written by a man. this was boring af and hella fucking repetitive. the only reason i'm giving this two stars is cause Cullen did make a few funny/sarcastic remarks. not interesting and do not recommend.

[Matthew McDonough · Rating 2 out of 5]

M'eh. Too slanted and one sided, from a heavy-handed, eye roll worthy author.

[Erika · Rating 4 out of 5]

Students really struggled with this text as they had less historical prior knowledge than I expected

[gadabout · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disjointed histories and thoughts and ideas with a forced central premise. Not sure what this book was really about.
Don't know if the author knew, either.

[Olena Pittura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it!

[D]

School

[Abe Frank]

Class #seniorsem

[Deborah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting nonfiction that told me somethings I didn't know

[Daniel Lucke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Far from revelatory but interesting nonetheless

[Hana Jay Klokner · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author of "The American Dream" starts with Puritan's ideals that shaped the American way of thinking. It continues with the Declaration of Independence that brought America's freedom from Britain, how Abraham Lincoln persisted on making the south free, so the white people could prosper from hard work, and goes further on how Martin Luther King Jr. finally made Afro-Americans equal in their freedom.

The Dream is wrapped in two more parts: the ownership of houses and in the Golden State, both that probably feel the most relevant now.

What I liked about the book was that it explains why the American Dream is still so important not only to Americans, but to other nations in the world as well. It connects people who in other case would have nothing in common, through hard work, dedication and taking responsibility, but not the kind that brings you frustration, rather than the one you choose because you know it's going to help others.

Again, fascinating read, as long as you don't mind more academic tone and vocabulary.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

2013 - Excellent on rereading. Not a comprehensive vision of the term, but a wonderful engagement with particular times (from Puritans through the movement West) and ideas (including race and home ownership). Great essays.

Just looked over this again (6/2011) - an overview that hits high points from the Puritans (for whom he is apologetically favorable) to the Declaration of Independence to upward mobility and home ownership, equality and race, and finally the vision of the easy life measured by life on the Coast (Las Vegas and California). Solid, but not complete.

"In the broadest sense, you might say that the narrative arc of this book begins with people who denied their efforts could affect their fates, moves through successors who later declared independence to get that chance, to heirs who elaborated a gospel of self-help promising they could shape their fates with effort, and ends with people who long to achieve dreams without having to make any effort at all."

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometime during the election season, I asked some friends "What does the phrase 'The American Dream' even MEAN?" No one really had an answer . . . so I was excited to find this book! (Yes, I'm a dork.)

This book's 6 chapters trace the origins and development of the American Dream:

1. Dream of the Good Life (I) The Puritan Enterprise
2. Dream Charter: The Declaration of Independence
3. Dream of the Good Life (II): Upward mobility
4. King of America: The Dream of Equality
5. Detached Houses: The Dream of Home Ownership
6. Dream of the Good Life (III) The Coast
Conclusion: Extending the Dream

This book is a great overview of America's history and the cultural assumptions / longings / struggles, etc. during each stage of that history.

[Corrielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I ran across a reference to this book while doing research on Death of a Salesman, and now having read the whole thing, let's just say I'm going to fundamentally alter how I teach that play to include some of the ideas Cullen brings together in this book. I found it to be a very readable examination of a phrase that gets thrown around a lot without much thought. Cullen seems divides the book into chapters that discuss the historical roots of different versions of "The American Dream," and at the same time as he continuously questions why the idea has had such continued significance in America's national consciousness. Definitely worth a read for anyone interested in the history of this loaded little phrase.

[Cara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Detailed enough to break down the history of the American Dream into its most important eras but concise enough to read quickly, this book pinpointed the major changes to the Dream and chronicled the major events that changed the Dream into what it is today. I personally enjoyed reading about the history of the Dream, a topic few people seem to tackle in online articles or history websites. It certainly saved my paper.

[Janet · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was an ok book. If you like history than you might love this book but I personally hate history and did not enjoy reading this book. I would get through 2 pages and fall asleep, literally. It only has 6 chapters but they are quite lengthy. The last 2 chapters were alright. I'm guessing because the author talked more about the modern day events.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was to support my research for my thesis on the Great Gatsby. It was helpful, but a bit repetitive for such a short book.
Cullen did a great job presenting his information on the American Dream in an organized and accessible manner.

[LSC-University Park SLRC]

Available through Lone Star College EBSCO Ebook Collection.

[naseer yahya · Rating 4 out of 5]

ill fill this in next week iA

[Michal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book - a a good and easy read for anyone wanting a better understanding of American politics and economics, through a historical lens

[Cor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sampled on Kindle, not worth the time.
Disjointed and not very critical or scholarly. Not what I was expecting.