Who Killed the American Dream? - The Greatest Political Crime Ever Told

Jul 31, 2026

Who Killed the American Dream? argues that the decline of the American dream is rooted in deliberate political and legal actions that expanded corporate power while eroding democratic accountability. Through a prologue, sixteen themed chapters, and an epilogue, the book reconstructs key players, courtroom conflicts, and long-running strategies that shift blame onto others. It culminates in proposed remedies for restoring the dream, mapping historical consequences and future stakes for society.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages229

Reading Time9 h 37 min

AccessFree to download

Author's Note

Prologue: A Crime in Plain Sight

The Scene of the Crime

The Courtroom Showdown

The Triggerman: J.C. Bancroft Davis

The Mastermind: Supreme Court Justice Stephen J. Field

The Seventy-Year Legal War

The First Corporate War

What the Founders Knew

The Crime Pays Off

The Numbers Don't Lie: Measuring the Death of the Dream

The Cover-Up: How They Pinned the Crime on Scapegoats

The Deflection Playbook: Culture War as a Substitute for Economic Reform

How to Undo the Crime: Restoring the Dream

What Happens After the Amendment Passes

The Rebellion Has Already Begun

The Amendment Movement and the State Resolutions

The Global Stakes

Corporate Immortality and Unequal Risk

The Media Oligopoly

Epilogue: What History Will Say About Us

A Study Guide

Notes

Index

[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) Who Killed the American Dream? [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) Recent books by Thom Hartmann The Hidden History of the American Dream: The Demise of the Middle Class—and How to Rescue Our Future The Hidden History of American Democracy: Rediscovering Humanity’s Ancient Way of Living The Hidden History of Neoliberalism: How Reaganism Gutted America and How to Restore Its Greatness The Hidden History of Big Brother in America: How the Death of Privacy and the Rise of Surveillance Threaten Us and Our Democracy The Hidden History of American Healthcare: Why Sickness Bankrupts You and Makes Others Insanely Rich The Hidden History of American Oligarchy: Reclaiming Our Democracy from the Ruling Class The Hidden History of Monopolies: How Big Business Destroyed the American Dream The Hidden History ofthe War on Voting: Who Stole Your Vote—and How to Get It Back The Hidden History of the Supreme Court and the Betrayal of America The Hidden History of Guns and the Second Amendment [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) Who Killed the American Dream? The Greatest Political Crime Ever Told † THOM HARTMANN [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) Who Killed the American Dream? Copyright © 2026 by Thom Hartmann All rights reserved. No portion of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, or be used in training generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies or developing machine-learning language models without permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, please contact the Copyright Clearance Center at [marketplace.copyright.com/rs-ui-web/mp](marketplace.copyright.com/rs-ui-web/mp). Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. 1333 Broadway, Suite P 100 Oakland, CA 94612-1921 (510) [817-2277 | ](817-2277 | bkconnection.com)[bkconnection.com](817-2277 | bkconnection.com) Ordering information for print editions Quantity sales. Special discounts are available on quantity purchases by corporations, associations, individuals, and others. For details, please go to [bkconnection.com](bkconnection.com) to see our bulk discounts or contact [bookorders@bkpub.com](bookorders@bkpub.com) for more information. [Textbook exam/desk copies](Textbook exam/desk copies. Please consult the General FAQ at bkconnection.com)[. Please consult the General FAQ at ](Textbook exam/desk copies. Please consult the General FAQ at bkconnection.com)[bkconnection.com](Textbook exam/desk copies. Please consult the General FAQ at bkconnection.com). Bookstore orders for trade or textbook use. For print books, please contact Penguin Random House Publisher Services at [customerservice@penguinrandomhouse.com](customerservice@penguinrandomhouse.com. For)[. For](customerservice@penguinrandomhouse.com. For) ebooks, contact your favorite distributor. Distributed to the US trade and internationally by Penguin Random House Publisher Services. The authorized representative in the EU for product safety and compliance is EU Compliance Partner, Pärnu mnt. 139b-14, 11317 Tallinn, Estonia, [www.eucompliancepartner.com](www.eucompliancepartner.com), +372 5368 65 02. Berrett-Koehler and the BK logo are registered trademarks of Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. First Edition Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Hartmann, Thom, 1951– author Title: Who killed the American dream? : the greatest political crime ever told / Thom Hartmann. Description: First edition. | Oakland, CA : Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2026. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2026008255 (print) | LCCN 2026008256 (ebook) | ISBN 9798890572639 paperback | ISBN 9798890572646 pdf | ISBN 9798890572653 epub Subjects: LCSH: Corpor

FAQs

What is the central claim of Who Killed the American Dream?

The book argues that the American dream’s decline results from a sustained political and legal assault that strengthened corporate power and weakened democratic protections.

Which institutions and actors does the book focus on?

It highlights courtroom conflicts and Supreme Court decisions, including Supreme Court Justice Stephen J. Field, and it connects these developments to broader campaigns over decades.

How does the book suggest undoing the damage?

The later chapters move from diagnosis to remedy, presenting approaches aimed at restoring the dream and outlining what may happen after an amendment passes.

Jul 31, 2026

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