Americans Have Always Celebrated Hacks and Swindlers
In 19th-Century New England, Rule-Breaking Yankees Were a Source of National Pride
Grab a burger at the James Dean diner in Prague, pay homage to the Miles Davis monument in Kielce, Poland, or stop by the Elvis fan club of Malaysia, and you’ll see how a certain brand of 1950s “cool” still shapes perceptions of America abroad. What people mean by cool can be hard to pin down, but cultural historians tend to agree on some basics: defiance, self-control, individualism, and creativity—ideals epitomized by the jazz and beat movements of the early 20th century.
Long before these characteristics were cool, however, …
