The American Dream: A Cultural History

Title Page, Copyright, Dedication, About the Author

T h e A m e r i c a n D r e a m The American A Cultur al Histor y L aw r e n c e R . S a m u e l Syracuse University Press Copyright © 2012 by Syracuse University Press Syracuse, New York 13244-5290 All Rights Reserved First Edition 2012 12 13 14 15 16 17 6 5 4 3 2 1 ∞ The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992. For a listing of books published and distributed by Syracuse University Press, visit our website at SyracuseUniversityPress.syr.edu. ISBN (cloth): 978-0-8156-1007-6 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Samuel, Lawrence R. The American dream : a cultural history / Lawrence R. Samuel. — 1st ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-8156-1007-6 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. National characteristics, American. 2. United States—Civilization—1945– 3. Popular culture—United States—History. 4. American Dream. I. Title. E169.12.S235 2012 973—dc23 2012022220 Manufactured in the United States of America To Freya, my American Dream Somewhere, over the rainbow, skies are blue. And the Dreams that we dare to dream really do come true. —E. Y. Harburg Lawrence R. Samuel is the founder of Culture Planning LLC, a Miami- and New York–based resource offering cultural insight to Fortune 500 organizations. He is the author of a number of books, including The End of the Innocence: The 1964–1965 New York World’s Fair (Syracuse University Press, 2007), Future: A Recent History (2009), Rich: The Rise and Fall of American Wealth Culture (2009), Freud on Madison Avenue: Motivation Research and Subliminal Advertising in America (2010), and Supernatural America: A Cultural History (2011). ...