Bump:
I think a big thing to overcome is the chaotic transitions of society which changed society. The older generation of the 1950s that were the parents and grandparents at the time wanted peace. They had gone through the Depression and Second World War (and many the First World War), and wanted peace, domestic tranquility, and the American dream. A white picket fence, two children, and a wife in the kitchen with all the latest appliances. That was it. Or at least it for the White Men who dominated society. That's why they put "Leave it to Beaver" and "Father Knows Best" on TV. They knew it was bullshit, and not reality, because they were old enough to know it wasn't true. Their children may have thought it was, and that may have contributed to backlash of those children against the establishment in the 60s and 70s because they felt lied to, but the parents knew those shows were just shows. But, what they were was the ideal they people of the 50s generation wanted to live up to and be. That was their idea of Utopia and how things should be. The Father does his job, and is a great mentor and offers advice and raises his children right, and is king of his home. The Mother is nurturing and does her duties at home and as a wife. The children were good kids who were being raised right. And there was the occasional bully, but it wasn't their kid that was the bully, and there were problems, but they were always resolved in half an hour. Nothing was ever sleazy, and everything was respectful and conservative.
Then stuff rocked the boat. Rock n' Roll came along, with this ragged, tribal beat, and kids were rioting and dancing to this Black music and white artists were singing it. Then everyone wanted equality. There were calls for Black rights, and eventually Womens rights, and gender and racial equality. And this shook the picket fences, and drove parents mad. Elvis was a sex fiend, Rock n' Roll was the Devil's music, and Civil Rights were a Communist plot. The 50s generation that were the parents and grandparents were all about keeping your head low, and not doing anything to shake the boat. And people were mucking around while they were trying to live their Utopia.
That would pale in comparison to the 60s and 70s. Come the mid-to-late 60s and early 70s, there were other movements for peace, criticizing an American war like never before, and social liberalism from the New Left (the New Dealer left that proceeded the New Left focused on Labor rights and economics; not social issues), and people were asking for reefer to be legal. Civil Rights and Womens Rights, and all these progress movements were in full swing, and becoming militant as time went by. Beaver Cleaver was growing up, growing his hair out, and smoking weed, and his girlfriend was burning her bra while he burned his draft card. The youth were being decadent.
So something that needs to be overcome for the "American Dream" world this thread is trying to create are the problems there. Mind you, this does not require the base things to not exist. Just for them not to be so destructive. Rock and Roll can come along and exist, and be fine. And African Americans can get Civil Rights (I'm looking to the Fallout universe for this) and women can even get more rights. But it comes undone if they get militant and not about just shaking the boat, but tipping it over completely.