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American Dreams And The American Dream

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Americans have been dreaming since the Mayflower arrived in the New World and the American Dream itself has withstood threats up until this very day to all of its internal characteristics: international peace, health, leadership, wealth, supremacy, and equality. H.W. Brands states in his book American Dreams that “Americans had dreamed since our national birth, and in the twenty-first century we are dreaming still”. Both Brands’ story and Nathaniel Philbrick’s account in Mayflower assist significantly in proving that the American Dream has survived into the twenty-first century. As America is met with different governments, world wars, international conflict, both economic success and failure, and shifts in leadership, the American Dream stays alive through it all. The ideals of this dream evolve with the world and adapt to different cultural, political, and economic changes. Mayflower recounts the beginnings of new settlements on the east coast of America that would change the world and American Dreams tells the story of America after World War II and right up until 2010. Mayflower begins by providing information about the long time spent planning the trip to the New World. After receiving a patent and purchasing boats to use, the Englishmen embarked on the journey that would remain in history forever. Captain Christopher Jones led the men, women, and children on a 66 day trek to what was supposed to be the mouth of the Hudson River. Much to their dismay, he landed them a
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