The American Dream Dbq

In the period between 1890 and America joining the First World War, the United States experienced dynamic growth. The time became known as a 'Second Industrial Revolution'. The United States was transformed through population growth, technical innovation, and exploitation of the country's natural resources. There was an increase in urban populations and range of economic activity. Extracts 1, 2 and 3 present different views on this era of economic growth. Extract 1 looks at America's natural resources, the growth of technical ability and industrial capitalism, and the creation of a continental domestic market. Extract 2 takes a look at the weaknesses of the Gilded Age economy, which resulted in poverty and periods of depression and panic. Extract

The American Dream is created by a person achieving happiness, fulfilling life goals, and prospering through hard work and determination. It changes throughout history, mainly through how media and society pursue the Dream to be. The structure of today’s society has warped the meaning of it, and placed a different direction behind the whole concept. The Dream itself is still alive, but the cynical twist to it could make most doubt the existence of what it really means.

When you ask someone what does the American Dream mean to them, they either tell you to go from dirt poor to filthy rich, or live a comfortable lifestyle with a white picket fence, family, and financial security. In the 1900s everyone would tell you the first one, although in present day more and more people just want to live with the second option. When the Great Depression occured in 1929, not only did it take a toll on the economy of the United States, but also the spirit. A famous historian during this era named James Truslow Adams came up with the term “American Dream”, where he defined it as "That dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for every man, with opportunity for each according to his ability or achievement.”.

When the United States was founded as a nation after the Revolutionary War it was largely agrarian in nature. Even when people lived in the village, that town was made up fewer that ten houses on average and only occasionally had other buildings such as a school, church, or small store. The people lived together for protection, and traveled out to their farm land everyday to till, plant and harvest. With the advent of the industrial revolution staring in the early part of the nineteenth century and then even more so with the information revolution of the 1960's onward people began moving away from the country and into the city because that was where they worked. There were enough farms to support the

However, it has also created room for corruption. In a scholarly journal, Information, markets, and corruption: Transcontinental railroads in the Gilded Age, White Richard stated that corruption “consisted of quotidian faults-lying, deception, and dishonesty-played out largely on paper and along telegraph lines” (White). These wrongdoings allowed trustees to use their personal advantages to further corrupt society and as an outcome children and adult workers suffer.

The American ________. One could fit several words into that blank: The American Dream, The American Spirit, The American Revolution, and The American System. What are the definitions of these phrases? What does it really mean to be an American anything? If one wants to learn more about a culture the best place to start is by looking at their literature. Literature is the self-expression and exploration of the people who write it. Therefore, if one wants to discover what it means to be an American, they need to look at the American Literature.

Before the civil war started in the nineteenth century we first see the steamboat, the telegraph, and the sewing machine. After the war the United States industrial revolution boomed at what many historians called a “breakneck” pace. The transcendental railroad was created to transport products, material, and people. Between the years 1860 and 1900 over fourteen million

Fitzgerald demonstrates flashback through Jay Gatsby by associating him to self-identity and the American dream. The American Dream is known as a personal happiness and comforted by material things. Gatsby’s goal was to gain respect, to have a known reputation of wealth. He filled his days with big festive parties. Gatsby’s identity was once hidden, in his young days Gatsby did not know what he wanted to accomplish. When he was a teen he met a man named Dan Cody. He made Gatsby the man he became; he told him how to dress, and how to approach people. He taught Gatsby everything that he knew. Gatsby wasn’t looking to have a good time; he was looking for his true love, Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby dream would soon turn into a nightmare.

The American Dream has influenced the hopes and future of many Americans. One person’s dream will not be the same as another, because dreams are like snowflakes, there’s never two that are exactly alike. “... each person has the right to pursue happiness- not a self-indulgence, but as fair ambition and creative drive” (American RadioWorks- A Better Life). Many people may have a harder path to achieve their dream, but with hard work and their ability to freely pursue opportunity they will make a better life for themselves. In previous years there has been economic problems that may have impacted many people lives, for example the civil rights act, women’s rights, and gender equality. Many people still question if this concept is still available for everybody, if it was even real, and if it is will it exist for future generations. In this paper, it will help you understand the history and how it originated, American Dream in literature, complications and the interference that it may have, and the recurring question, is the American Dream dead or alive?

Two major historical turning points during the post-Civil War period (1865-1900) were the dramatic rise of industrial America (industrialization) and the development of the American West. This paper reviews and critiques those developments

The American Dream is what it says; only a dream. There is no set goal for Americans because of the ever changing economy and the diverse perspectives that people have about the world. The American Dream is where everyone has equality and an equal chance to live and succeed. There are many debates about what the true definition of “The American Dream” is, but the important discussion should be whether it is only a dream, or a reality. Have Americans reached their “dream” or is it only a philosophical idea to give them a purpose of life? Some people want to make the world better, while others are satisfied with where it is today.

In her poem, “The American Dream,” anonymous poet Amy H. praises the American dream, claiming that we, as Americans, experience “heaven on Earth.” Amy H. does little to distinguish the American dream from the actual American reality. She proposes that all Americans, from those in“double-wide trailers to double-wide mansions,” are equal in our appreciation for the benefits of the American dream. Amy suggests that because of the prevalence of the this dream in our culture, that it has been achieved or implemented into reality. Amy H. claims that millions have made it more than a dream- she claims that it is a dream that has been realized. In her poem Amy writes, “It is the dream that wakes within us all.” Though the idea of the American dream is

“The American Dream” is a phrase coined by James Truslow Adams in 1931 in his book The Epic of America. It is nothing more than a simple three-word phrase, and yet within it is the history of a nation birthed from the dream where everyone will have equal opportunity to rise from the bottom to the top. There have been many examples of these instances and those who have achieved their dreams are heralded as heroes, with many— most often fictional— movies and books written about their success. However, such is not always the case. Many have died trying to achieve their dreams and still have not seen the fruit of their labors. It is also with great consideration that one thinks about the possibility of there being more than one “American Dream”.

The meaning of the "American Dream" has changed over the course of history, and includes both personal components (such as home ownership and upward mobility) and a global vision. Historically the Dream originated in the mystique regarding frontier life. As the Royal Governor of Virginia noted in 1774, the Americans "for ever imagine the Lands further off are still better than those upon which they are already settled". He added that, "if they attained Paradise, they would move on if they heard of a better place farther west. The German emigrant comes into a country free from the despotism, privileged orders and monopolies, intolerable taxes, and constraints in matters of belief and conscience. Everyone can travel and

The American economy experience massive transformations during the first half of the nineteenth century that created a unique and strictly American economic structure and way of doing business. During the country’s colonial period and for a few decades following independence, America maintained a rural, agrarian economy that featured only a microscope level of small scale industry in the Northeast. By the turn of the century in 1800, out of a population five million three hundred thousand, only 6 percent of the population lived in urban communities if urban is defined as having a population of more than two thousand five hundred, and that percentage shrinks to 3 percent if urban is defined as a population of ten thousand or more. 74 percent