Online ISBN:
9780197711224
Print ISBN:
9780195158212
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
Book
Get access
Jim Cullen
Published online:
31 October 2023
Published in print:
6 February 2003
Online ISBN:
9780197711224
Print ISBN:
9780195158212
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
Cite Icon Cite
Cite
Cullen, Jim, The American Dream: A Short History of an Idea That Shaped a Nation (
Close
Search
Close
Search
Advanced Search
Search Menu
Abstract
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 begins by noting 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 but galvanizing 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. Cullen then traces a series of overlapping American dreams: the quest for of religious freedom that brought the Pilgrims to the “New World”; the political freedom promised in the Declaration; the dream of upward mobility, embodied most fully in the figure of Abraham Lincoln; the dream of home ownership, from homestead to suburb; the intensely idealistic--and largely unrealized--dream of equality articulated most vividly by Martin Luther King, Jr. 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. For anyone seeking to understand a shifting but central idea in American history, The American Dream is an interpretive tour de force.
Subject
History of the Americas
Collection: Oxford Scholarship Online
Contents
© Oxford University Press 2003
Sign in
Get help with access
Personal account
- Sign in with email/username & password
- Get email alerts
- Save searches
- Purchase content
- Activate your purchase/trial code
- Add your ORCID iD
Sign in Register
Institutional access
- Sign in with a library card
- Sign in with username/password
- Recommend to your librarian
Sign in through your institution
Sign in through your institution
Institutional account management
Sign in as administrator
Get help with access
Institutional access
Access to content on Oxford Academic is often provided through institutional subscriptions and purchases. If you are a member of an institution with an active account, you may be able to access content in one of the following ways:
IP based access
Typically, access is provided across an institutional network to a range of IP addresses. This authentication occurs automatically, and it is not possible to sign out of an IP authenticated account.
Sign in through your institution
Choose this option to get remote access when outside your institution. Shibboleth/Open Athens technology is used to provide single sign-on between your institution’s website and Oxford Academic.
- Click Sign in through your institution.
- Select your institution from the list provided, which will take you to your institution's website to sign in.
- When on the institution site, please use the credentials provided by your institution. Do not use an Oxford Academic personal account.
- Following successful sign in, you will be returned to Oxford Academic.
If your institution is not listed or you cannot sign in to your institution’s website, please contact your librarian or administrator.
Sign in with a library card
Enter your library card number to sign in. If you cannot sign in, please contact your librarian.
Society Members
Society member access to a journal is achieved in one of the following ways:
Sign in through society site
Many societies offer single sign-on between the society website and Oxford Academic. If you see ‘Sign in through society site’ in the sign in pane within a journal:
- Click Sign in through society site.
- When on the society site, please use the credentials provided by that society. Do not use an Oxford Academic personal account.
- Following successful sign in, you will be returned to Oxford Academic.
If you do not have a society account or have forgotten your username or password, please contact your society.
Sign in using a personal account
Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members. See below.
Personal account
A personal account can be used to get email alerts, save searches, purchase content, and activate subscriptions.
Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members.
Viewing your signed in accounts
Click the account icon in the top right to:
- View your signed in personal account and access account management features.
- View the institutional accounts that are providing access.
Signed in but can't access content
Oxford Academic is home to a wide variety of products. The institutional subscription may not cover the content that you are trying to access. If you believe you should have access to that content, please contact your librarian.
Institutional account management
For librarians and administrators, your personal account also provides access to institutional account management. Here you will find options to view and activate subscriptions, manage institutional settings and access options, access usage statistics, and more.
Purchase
Our books are available by subscription or purchase to libraries and institutions.
Purchasing information
Citations
Views
23
Altmetric
More metrics information
Metrics
Total Views 23
11 Pageviews
12 PDF Downloads
Since 9/1/2024
Month: | Total Views: |
---|---|
September 2024 | 2 |
September 2024 | 2 |
September 2024 | 2 |
September 2024 | 2 |
September 2024 | 2 |
September 2024 | 2 |
September 2024 | 2 |
September 2024 | 2 |
September 2024 | 2 |
September 2024 | 3 |
September 2024 | 2 |
Citations
Powered by Dimensions
Altmetrics
More from Oxford Academic
Arts and Humanities
History
History of the Americas
Regional and National History
Books
Journals