Changes

==California Dream==

==California Dream==

Historian Kevin Starr in his grand seven-volume history of the state has explored in great depth the "California Dream"--the realization by ordinary Californians of the American Dream. California dream. California starting in the late 19th century promised the highest possible standard of life for the middle classes.  It was not so much the upper class (who preferred in new York and Boston). The California Dream meant an improved and more affordable family life: a small but stylish and airy house marked by a fluidity of indoor and outdoor space, such as the ubiquitous California bungalow and a lush [[backyard]]—the stage, that is, for quiet family life in a sunny climate. It meant very good jobs, excellent roads, plentiful facilities for outdoor recreation, and the schools and universities that were the best in the world by the 1940s. James M. Cain, an eastern writer who visited the Golden State, reported in 1933 that the archetypal Californian "addresses you in easy grammar, completes his sentences, shows familiarity with good manners, and in addition gives you a pleasant smile."<ref> Kevin Starr, ''Golden Dreams: California in an Age of Abundance, 1950-1963'' (2009) </ref>

Historian Kevin Starr in his grand seven-volume history of the state has explored in great depth the "California Dream"--the realization by ordinary Californians of the American Dream. California starting in the late 19th century promised the highest possible standard of life for the middle classes, and indeed for the skilled blue collar workers and farm owners as well.  It was not so much the upper class (who preferred in New York and Boston). The California Dream meant an improved and more affordable family life: a small but stylish and airy house marked by a fluidity of indoor and outdoor space, such as the ubiquitous California bungalow and a lush [[backyard]]—the stage, that is, for quiet family life in a sunny climate. It meant very good jobs, excellent roads, plentiful facilities for outdoor recreation, and the schools and universities that were the best in the world by the 1940s. James M. Cain, an eastern writer who visited the Golden State, reported in 1933 that the archetypal Californian "addresses you in easy grammar, completes his sentences, shows familiarity with good manners, and in addition gives you a pleasant smile."<ref> Kevin Starr, ''Golden Dreams: California in an Age of Abundance, 1950-1963'' (2009) </ref>

 

==Comparative==

==Comparative==

The American dream has always been a magnet for immigrants. Surveys show that Americans indeed have higher aspirations for themselves and their children. Thus three-quarters of Americans, compared with only one-third of Britons, West Germans, and Hungarians, and even fewer Dutch, agree that they have a good chance of improving their standard of living. Twice as many Americans as Canadians or Japanese think future generations of their nationality will live better than the present generation.<ref> Data cited by Hochschild, ''Facing Up to the American Dream: Race, Class, and the Soul of the Nation'' (1995), ch. 1</ref>  

The American dream has always been a magnet for immigrants. Surveys show that Americans indeed have higher aspirations for themselves and their children. Thus three-quarters of Americans, compared with only one-third of Britons, West Germans, and Hungarians, and even fewer Dutch, agree that they have a good chance of improving their standard of living. Twice as many Americans as Canadians or Japanese think future generations of their nationality will live better than the present generation.<ref> Data cited by Hochschild, ''Facing Up to the American Dream: Race, Class, and the Soul of the Nation'' (1995), ch. 1</ref>