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

Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2003

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Introduction-Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6-Conclusion

Key Figures

Themes

Index of Terms

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Chapter 6-ConclusionChapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 6 Summary: “Dream of the Good Life (III): The Coast”

The author focuses his discussion of the American Dream of the Coast by first introducing Las Vegas and the relevance of gambling to the Dream before he launches into an explanation of how California is the true epicenter of this variation of the Dream. Las Vegas came to prominence as a stopping point along the railroad route between Salt Lake City and Los Angeles in the early 20th century. Federal investment for railroad construction and other forms of government funding—including money to set up military bases and test bombs—helped build Las Vegas in its early days.

Nevada state law facilitated Las Vegas’s notorious reputation as a city of vice when “it legalized prostitution and gambling by 1931 and determinedly looked the other way during Prohibition. It also avowedly made itself the easiest state in the Union in which to obtain a divorce” (165). By the 1970s, Las Vegas became a well-oiled business, famous for its gambling and popular entertainment. Cullen explains that Vegas and everything it famously represents the dream of getting something for nothing.

The author pivots to a review of California after declaring that the real Dream of the Coast “rests on a quest for placidity, not the thrill of risk” (167) that one might pursue in a casino. He outlines a brief history of California, including its acquisition by the US following the Mexican War of 1846. Cullen pays special attention to the California Gold Rush, which fueled the state’s population boom in the hundred years from 1860 to 1960—and which was “the purest expression of the Dream of the Coast in American history” (170) for its promise of easy riches.

Cullen then turns to the rise of California’s motion picture industry. Filmmakers in the early 20th century left New York for California in part to avoid lawsuits from Thomas Edison, who owned patents on projectors and demanded that filmmakers pay him royalties for using them. Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford, the motion picture power couple who created United Artists alongside Charlie Chaplin and David Wark Griffith, lived in a mansion popularly known as “Pickfair” that dazzled the popular imagination and was a gathering place for celebrities. The author discusses the enormous gap in values between the Puritans of a bygone era and what’s portrayed in early Hollywood films like His Picture in the Papers.

Conclusion Summary: “Extending the Dream Summary”

The author briefly introduces the American Dream of the Immigrant—a subset of the umbrella Dream of Upward Mobility—by telling the story of two immigrant women who opened a successful business together. Immigration has been a divisive issue for much of American history. Lingering tension persists between the idea that immigrants are the backbone of American society and the idea that immigrants cause harm by refusing to assimilate and driving down wages. Despite this tension, Cullen writes that the historical trend is toward more opportunity and greater acceptance of immigrants in the US. His goal in authoring this book is “to show that the American Dream has functioned as a shared ground for a very long time, binding together people who may have otherwise little in common and may even be hostile to one another” (189) and to encourage the use of the Dream as a standard by which one can reflect on existing society and imagine avenues for improvement.

Chapter 6-Conclusion Analysis

In the concluding chapters of his book, Cullen discusses two opposite aspects of the American Dream: first, the dream of getting something for nothing and the “good life,” including getting rich quick and getting famous, and second, the aspiration of American immigrants who work hard to build their own businesses.

The author expresses less reverence for this manifestation of the American Dream than for the previous ones. For example, when discussing the values of Pickfair, Cullen writes that “they are a fraud, and we all know it […]” (178) and compares the authenticity of these values unfavorably to those of the Puritans. In an apparent show of respect for the importance of Hollywood’s creative output, however, the author concedes that the American Dream is “most fully realized in works of art” (179)—although another way of saying this is that the American Dream is much more difficult to realize in actual life. This stands as another point against the dazzling fraud of Pickfair. The author’s intent is to strike comparisons of the earnest strivings and tribulations of the Puritans’ struggle to survive and of civil rights leaders staking their lives on the principle of equality, to the glamorous quests of the California Gold Rush (setting aside its historical importance), the Las Vegas gambling economy, and the shallow lifestyles of movie celebrities.

Cullen challenges one reasonable conclusion based on the preceding information in the rest of the book—that many people who seek their own version of the American Dream are doomed never to achieve it—in his brief conclusion: He discusses the Dream of the Immigrant as a subset of the American Dream and shares the true story of two immigrant women who succeeded in business. The juxtaposition of the comparatively frivolous Dream of the Good Life with this immigrant dream speaks to the inherent tension, ambiguity, and difficulty of the American Dream: Some people find their success and fortune in the US, but for those who don’t, who’s to blame? Is it a matter of hard work and discipline—or of being sold a false bill of goods? The iconic image of the American Dream is that of immigrants passing the Statue of Liberty as their ship enters the New York harbor. The author’s ending the book with a feel-good story of successful American immigrants reveals that he’s optimistic about both the future of the US and the validity of the American Dream.