The Promise of America Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, “Remember, remember always, that all of us, and you and I especially, are descended from immigrants and revolutionists.” All people have different ideas of what the American promise is, and what it means to be an American. To some, America promises hope and freedom, but to others it may promise a stable income and a stable home. In both the illustration, “Scene on the Steerage Deck”, and in the speech, “Address on the Occasion of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Statue of Liberty”, the promise of America is defined as hope and unity. “Scene on the Steerage Deck” is a newspaper illustration from Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper. In the illustration, the auditor can clearly see the
Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. These words should sound familiar to most people. They were included in the Declaration of Independence, which was mainly written by Thomas Jefferson. The Declaration announced America’s separation from Britain, tyranny, and the monarchy.
Since America’s formation over 200 years ago, anyone who immigrates or is born in the U.S. has hope to fulfil the American Dream. The rags to riches mentality is infectious and has seeped its way into every aspect American culture from literature to the workforce. Since the beginning America has been the land of opportunity; everyone has equal chances to succeed. A melting pot of cultures, religions, and ethnicities, America embodies equality and fairness, or at least it has claimed to. Since its creation, America has hidden behind the rouse of the American Dream; equal opportunities for everyone. However, for over 200 years it has failed. Through centuries of slavery, poverty, inequality, and war, the American dream has eluded its citizens,
-Roark, James L., Michael P. Johnson, Patricia Cline Cohen, Sarah Stage, and Susan M. Hartmann. The American Promise: A Concise History. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2014. Print.
Over the past few weeks of class, we have covered the first five chapters of our textbook, written by George Brown Tindell and David Emory Shi called, “America, A Narrative History.” Each chapter told the reader a narration of the history of America, as opposed to an expository version of America’s history. Each chapter had its own main idea over a portion of history, along with many details that cover the importance of the main idea. As a reader, one may obtain a deeper appreciation for the country 's history, prior to entering the class on the first day. The most important aspect of history, besides the battles that are fought, is the different cultures that make up today’s modern America.
America’s gift to my generation is amazing because veterans have used all their potential for us. They fought for us to be alive right now. Their gift to us is much more than I expected. I am so thankful and I appreciate all they have done for us.
On a bright sunny Tuesday, September 11th, 2001, started off as an ordinary day where Americans were out working to achieve their ambitious goal called the “ American Dream”. I decided to grab a coffee to start off my day. As I walked by a street vendor, he nicely asked: “ It’s a beautiful day huh?”. I smiled and answered, “ Yes it is sir”. “ What are you up to today? Are you in a rush?” he followed. I answered, “I’m just on my way to grab a coffee and get some fresh air”. He waved as we finished our conversation and I continued towards Starbucks.
One promise of America is to allow freedom to its people. As described in President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1936 speech, “[Immigrants] came to us speaking many tongues—but a single language, the universal language of human aspiration,” (Roosevelt, 3). Although immigrants have various customs, they “are all bound together by hope of a common future rather than by reverence for a common past,” (Roosevelt, 7) which leads them to unite, regardless of their differences, as citizens of the New World. They expect, once they arrive, not only to learn new things, but to have the freedom to retain their old knowledge and beliefs as well. President Roosevelt also mentioned that “[t]hey not only found freedom in the New World, but by their effort and devotion, they made the New World’s freedom safer, richer, and far more reaching, more capable of growth,” (Roosevelt, 4).
America: the land of the free. Over 300 million people live on this hunk of land and there's a lot to this country if you haven’t already realized from the farms in the Midwest to the big urban cities. There are so many paths to success and happiness in this country: you can pretty much be anything if you try hard enough. This won’t be the case for all people, simply because they aren't good at that certain thing that they want to do. But think of all of the many things you can do. You can have a job in the trades and work with your hands, you could be a graphic designer and make billboards, you can go into the business world and try to open up your own business like opening up a restaurant. Being an American means to be the fullest version
The promise of America is shown in three primary sources that have been analyzed. The conclusion is that the promise of America is new opportunities, freedom, and unity as a nation. In the famous speech by President Franklin D Roosevelt for the 5th anniversary of
Throughout the decades of new beginnings, new laws, new Presidents and new ways of life for the American people, not only have we grew accustomed to the different views and structures of the way our ancestors valued their own lives in America, but we also have grew accustom to our own. The way we value our ideas and beliefs determine the type of person we are and gives others an outlook on our substantial new themes of life that somehow mix together into becoming a born and raised American citizen. Throughout our readings we have seen many of these themes and concepts brought up and talked about by many readers. My first primary theme that I will be going over in my work is America as the Land of Opportunity, second will be the American Success
“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”. This infamous quote from the declaration of Independence not only personifies the hope and desperation for opportunity so many immigrants long for before coming to America, it also exemplifies the true “American Identity” that is embraced by native born Americans. This promise for a better life that America is dangled in our faces of other countries that bonds the people together stronger than anything that would divide them. The American identity has taken several decades to develop from the influences of old European ties, the meshing of
The colors of red, white, and blue reflect the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness established over two centuries ago by the nation’s forebearers. Being American is about anticipating change and being provided with the environment to dream. Americans have dreamed of a more equal union, where Women obtain the right to vote and African Americans are social equals. The country’s images of Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller inspire the American dream, where individuals are not satisfied with their socioeconomic standing and have the opportunity to progress. Furthermore, only a minor portion of the United States population is of Native American descent. Therefore, the United States is a country of immigrants,
Throughout the world, the United States is infamous for its guaranteed freedom to its citizens. People travel from all around many different parts of the world to get a taste of the lifestyle and opportunity the United States citizen’s are offered everyday. This nation thrives on preserving our personal freedoms, property, and liberty; moreover, it is the nation’s promise to its citizens. These rights are binded in our coveted Bill of Rights and the Constitution, a document for the people by the people. Many people can find their own personal definition of what they believe to be the American Promise; however, growing up I have always believed and had been taught that the American Promise was the opportunity to live
The United States of America, as people know it today, was built on a bundle of moving pieces to ensure that citizens would live in complete freedom and peace. America’s history illustrates to others the secret to becoming successful is based on fixing and overcoming failures. The United States of America has not always been “The American Dream” due to many controversies among its citizens. The government of the United States of America handles conflicts between different parties that often oppose others beliefs, the citizens will always be protected by certain rights and liberties that construct a feeling of safety and support one’s life.
The Statue of Liberty embodies American independence and freedom. These principles are the foundation of this nation and give its citizens hope for a progressive and promising future. The immigrants who saw the Statue of Liberty from their ship hoped to live out the “American dream”, which also promised a future full of opportunity. The symbolic torch Lady Liberty holds signifies the light of freedom, however, the broken chain lying around her feet depicts our shameful and repressive past. She stirs the citizens of this nation to be guided by her torch of freedom and warns them never to recede back into subjugation. The American people have the right to pursue the American dream, because of the independence and freedom Lady Liberty personifies. The modern meaning of the American dream produces images of the suburbs, two perfectly behaved children, and a Prius parked in the garage. Unfortunately, this materialistic and shallow dream guides the way Americans live today. In contrast, the American dream, faithful to the principles of our founding documents, ensure equality reaches every suburb, city, countryside, child, man, and woman. America’s standards have lowered and the nation has become too content with their counterfeit American dream. Money can now buy artificial happiness that does not last. However, justice and liberty remain and cost nothing because our predecessors paid for it with their blood and lives. The American dream our forefathers envisioned and Lady Liberty