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

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.