The garage was a story of economic mobility for the middle class. It was never aimed at people in abject poverty. There were stories about going from troubled neighborhoods to college as well during the time when America still believed in class mobility.
The world of the 1800s was a world of hereditary title. There was never a promise of mobility and this is what made America and its legends different for all its failings. Going back to this world will not improve things for the better.
The US was one of the rare exceptions to the hereditary title thing. Most countries still had them in some form, though the big players today were throwing them off. (the English monarchs never used their power of veto, though they still have a lot of influence on the text of laws)
The US of the 1800s was a world in which you could legally own another human being, right up until December 6, 1865. Those born into bondage were condemned to live as such and had no legal way to change their personal status. This is kind of the ultimate form of a hereditary title.
The world of the 1800s was a world of hereditary title. There was never a promise of mobility and this is what made America and its legends different for all its failings. Going back to this world will not improve things for the better.