How Is The American Dream Relevant Today

The American Dream is one of those terms that people refer to when talking about immigration, financial status, and so much more. But what does the term really refer to? People used to think of the American Dream as financial prosperity, religious and financial freedom, and all around success. Now, the term may mean something similar, but people are much less focused on it. If anything, the American Dream today is focused on gaining material goods and proving your bank account is larger than your neighbors. With today’s economy, laws and regulations, immigration customs, and overall attitude towards work, people are seldom focused on achieving the American Dream.

The American Dream is indefinable. There is no one set of words or characteristics that the entire population assigns directly to its definition. With the American population consisting of people of various races, ethnicities, ages, classes, and genders, it seems trivial to even attempt to attribute a single definition to the concept of the American Dream. It is this inability however, to be confined within one single meaning, that allows for the American Dream to govern the desires and goals of the large and diverse American population. And, regardless of all of the heterogeneity within society, the American Dream is generally a goal of all American peoples. In examining this idea, I began to think about the specific meanings attributed to the American Dream for different types of individuals. I broadly outlined the American Dream for myself, to represent the belief in hard work as a pathway to success and raising oneself in society. Consequently, this higher position in society allows for the possession of increased amounts of power. My definition however, neglects to take into account the certain other societal constructs that could possibly have a decisive role in how to both define and achieve the American Dream for the wide variety of people who pursue it.

The idea of the American Dream has been around since America was founded, but until 1933, it was not put into words. In the article American Faces 1933’s Realities, by James Truslow Adams, he defines the American Dream as “ ...a vision of a better, deeper, richer life for every individual, regardless of the position in society which he or she may occupy by the accident of birth” (1). The American Dream does not have to be described as having copious amounts of wealth. To some, it is only a vision of a better life for themselves and their families.

“The American dream is more about opportunity than anything else.”- (Parker). This quote states what seems to be true about the American dream and how opportunity is how you achieve it. To me the American dream is being able to do what you want and achieving your end goal in life. Although this means something different for everyone but, to historians, it means that the government protects the rights of people to to do what makes them happy. In this paper I will discuss what the American dream is and if it is even still possible to achieve. Another thing about the American dream; it could mean the same thing in modern society as it did a long time ago because it is still a person's ability to do what they want and what makes them happy. However it has changed a little bit.

The American Dream: it is an ideal and a concept that has captured the minds of countless generations since the founding of this nation. However, this concept hasn’t always had a name, in fact, historian Jim Cullen is of the belief that the term was not coined until 1931, when James T. Adams wrote a book on the history of the United States which he originally entitled “The American Dream.” The title did not pass publishers due to the thinking that no one would purchase a book about one man’s dream of the nation (Gay and Deibel). Although the term was coined eighty-four years ago, the concept has a much deeper and older meaning. In fact, the idea may be found in the lives of the Mayflower Settlers, who came to this land seeking to practice their

The American Dream originated mainly from three different works, written years apart. The first was the Declaration of Independence. Written mainly by Thomas Jefferson,

The American dream used to be that through hard work you could become rich. Everyone wanted to own their own land and house. People used to work hard to try and own their own things because they worked hard they would value the clothes and things they owned. People now days will break their phones because their parents will buy them the newest one. People no longer work for things, they expect someone

The American dream has dependably been a staple of American society. At the point when individuals discuss it, they regularly allude back to the main portion of the twentieth century. Notwithstanding this, the American Dream is generally as significant to American culture today as it was in the most recent century. In this paper, we will investigate the American dream and exactly what it is.

The American Dream has been a long time goal that everybody in America has wanted in his or her life. Though the American Dream does not have to be what another person has defined it as, but rather it is what one person wants, their personal goal or desire of what they want it to be. Having an American Dream for ones’ self is helpful, because it has people set a goal, so they can keep moving forward to achieve that dream “The American Dream affords us opportunity and the freedom to seize it” (Rather, 2001). For this to take place, for instance, a man who grew up without a home, and took the time to try to succeed his lifetime goal of the American Dream. This man succeeded by believing it could

The American Dream is an idea that has existed for more than a century as an idea of what we can and should achieve, thanks to the freedoms supplied to us by our government. The first example of this idea appears in our very own Declaration of Independence, where founding father Thomas Jefferson wrote: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”(Jefferson). However, it wasn’t until over 150 years later that Pulitzer Prize winner James Truslow Adams defined The American Dream by stating “life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each

The article “Rethinking American Dream” explains the evolution of the American Dream through the years, and how the modern view is quite different from how it was viewed in the past. Originally, the American Dream was an idea that gave promise to ordinary people, for a happy lifestyle. As times changed, it gradually became associated with fame and wealth. This changed the way society viewed its “promise” therefore changing what people were working towards. This relates to The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald because one of the main themes in the novel is the American Dream.

The American Dream is the most discussed topic amongst the country, possibly even the world. High schools everywhere discuss the American dream because it is a topic that means different things to every person out there and writing essays or putting together presentations over the topic is a great way for students to learn how to research and put together a definition of individual dreams. Many views of the dream have been discovered throughout the past centuries event though the name appeared in the 20th century. There are also many views each person has over the American dream; such as, many people view the dream as an unachievable idea that no one can seem to reach so it will forever be a dream; whereas, I view it as an opportunity to set the goal of life and achieve greatness and all it takes is hard work and dedication and anyone could achieve greatness. Now there is more information on the American dream than can be condensed within five to seven pages; however, the main point of the American dream can be condensed. The American dream is a broad concept to grasp; nevertheless, it can be grouped up into many categories. Some of the categories discussed in this paper are: the history of the American dream, my definition of the American dream, the worlds view of the American dream, and if the dream is still achievable today.

The phrase “The American Dream” was popularized by James T. Adams in his book Epic of America. The meaning of the American Dream has changed overtime but still has the same idea: anything is achievable if you work for it, regardless of your financial or social standpoint. The twentieth century was filled with Americans in the working class motivated by the popularized phrase. People wanted to work and improve their positions, but suddenly, everything changed. The American dream turned merely a dream; a literal dream that can’t be physically touched. The dream isn’t completely dead, just not unattainable for most. The difference in today’s society from the past is what changed the thoughts on the dream. Technology is excelling rapidly,

To understand this presentation of the American Dream one has to first comprehend the characteristics of this Dream. The American Dream encompasses the myth of America's birth, a myth that is defined by a familiar phrase: The New World. The establishment of the United States, the growth of the country and its power in such a short time, and the sense of success felt across the nation as a result created the concept of the American Dream. America was conceived originally as a new beginning, a new world, a second chance. It was a world that contrasted with the Old World’s structure and all its corruption, social divisions, tyranny, and superficiality. On this basis is the American Dream founded. The key concepts that lie at the heart of the American

The American dream can be defined by Dictionary.com as, “The idealist of Freedom, Equal-ity, and Opportunity traditionally held to be available to every American.” As one of the founding fathers, John Adams once said, “The American Dream is that a dream of a land in which life should be better, richer, and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each ac-cording to ability or achievement” (Adams). When we think of the American Dream and compare it to modern times, the ideals have been altered based on the evolution of society. Since the establishment of America, the American Dream was always something to aspire, but as the 1920’s approached, as The Great Gatsby represents fully, the American economy climbed to unprecedented levels that would lead to the decline to the American Dream.