The Wealth of the American People: A History of American Affluence

by Oscar Handlin, Mary F. Handlin

In this book, the authors tell the story of the American Dream of Affluence. The authors view our economy as the end result of a complex tradition which linked productivity and freedom. Written in terms of the lives of people as well as events, the book includes personal stories of individual families, farmers, factory workers, industrialists, and businessmen. Spanning the entire life of the nation, “The Wealth of the American People” offers in one volume a highly readable interpretation of the growth of a nation, of its money, goods, business and industry, production, and overproduction. The authors say that America’s capacity to produce has out-stripped its capacity to consume. They reveal how we have become a nation of paradoxes and ironies, where there are still people who are starving for food, others hungry for jobs, while a majority – stifled by overconsumption and boredom – starve for something to do. Here in this indispensable work is a portrait of Americans progressing from desperate want to uneasy comfort, from poverty to wealth, and ultimately to a confrontation with the limits of growth in a time of old values changing and past answers called into question.

266 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1975