The American Dream Persuasive Speech

America still to this day holds on to the idea of the “American Dream”. This is rather surprising in today’s society and the ups and downs that the nation is facing. The dream in the past was more about freedom and equality. Moving through the decades, this dream has morphed into something quite different. Instead of what America means for all of its inhabitants, the nation has become more individualized. Society has moved to interpret the dream of what America can do for the one. Instead of the unified nation, America has been known for in the past, a shift has started creating an inconsistency in who can realize the dream. The myth of the “American Dream” has been hugely affected by increased materialism, the gap in economic status, and the fantasy of “rags to riches” idea.

The American Dream was a well thought idea during the creation of the Declaration of Independence; in fact, the original belief of the American Dream was that all Americans could pursue “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” (McQuade and Atwan). Furthermore, today the American Dream is an ideal thought to the overall strive for success. According to Kimberly Amadeo, a well-known author, she elaborated in her article What is the American Dream Today “… a focus on more of what really matters, such as creating a meaningful life, contributing to community and society, valuing nature, and spending time with friends and family” (Kimberly Amadeo). Creating the American Dream, controlling decisions, and building a life that can carry out success

At least from the moment in 1620 when the Mayflower anchored off Cape Cod, there has been an American Dream. Though hard to define, it usually entails the concept of freedom, justice and equality. Despite variations in the content of the dream there is one constant, the American Dream is a dream of the future and as such implies the idea of progress, change and equality. Our dreams may differ from those of the men who wrote the Mayflower Compact

When the phrase “American Dream” is uttered, it is typically associated with having money or striving to have money. The dream of much of the public is to have money and to be able to purchase anything they desire whenever they want. For some, this dream is not about money, but it is about having the opportunity to better his or herself and his or her loved ones. In either case, there are certain circumstances and obstacles that make this dream increasingly difficult to attain. Some would even be willing to argue, the American dream is unattainable. “American Dream” is defined as the concept of every citizen of the United States having an equal opportunity to achieve success and happiness through hard work, sacrifices, and risk-taking (Fontinelle);

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 term “American Dream” is defined as an idea which believes that all people have the possibility of prosperity and success. The idea first came from James Adams, a noted American writer and historian. He claimed, “Life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability and achievement.” Therefore, the core concepts of the American Dream were closely linked to hard work and opportunity.

The term “American Dream” is one of the triggers that lead to the shores of the USA many thousands of immigrants, it had a deep meaning for them, and it was first introduced to us by an American writer and historian James Truslow Adams in his 1931 book called “The Epic of America”, where he gives the definition of the term how he said “The American Dream”, by saying

The American Dream is something many Americans desire. The desire to the mind – set or belief that anyone can be successful if they worked hard for what they’ve been yearning. It is considered to be a ‘perfect life’; it can be full of money, contentedness or even love. There are many divergent opinions given by people. Walter Younger from Lorraine Hansberry’s ‘A Raisin in the Sun’ and Willy Loman from Arthur Miller’s ‘Death of the Salesman’ both have their own views on the American Dream and how it can be achieved. Walter Lee Younger, a

The American Dream: Is is fact or fiction? In the United States’ Declaration of Independence, our founding fathers set forth the idea of an American Dream by providing us with the recognizable phrase “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness”. The green light at the end of Daisy Buchanan’s dock symbolizes Jay Gatsby’s “Pursuit of Happiness” in the novel, The Great Gatsby, set in the 1920s on Long Island, New York. The American Dream can be defined as “the belief that anyone, regardless of where they were born or what class they were born into, can attain their own version of success in a society where upward mobility is possible for everyone. The American Dream is achieved through sacrifice, risk-taking, and hard work, not by chance” (Fontinelle, Amy). At the birth of our country in 1776, our founding fathers introduced the American Dream as a personal desire to pursue happiness; however, the pursuit of happiness was not intended to promote self-indulgence, rather to act as a catalyst to encourage an entrepreneurial spirit. As our country has changed, the idea of the American Dream, in some cases, has evolved into the pursuit of one’s own indulgences such as material gain regardless of the consequences.

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.

My American Dream consists of traveling, education, and a successful career. Experiencing the world and learning are aspects that I value and Dream of attaining; conversely, I do not dream of a family, white picket fence, or money, those ideals are not important to me. This is an example of how the Dream differentiates for each individual. “The American Dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.” (Amadeo) James Truslow Adams, an accomplished historian and promoter of the American dream in the 1930s, gives a broad definition for the term. Ever since the birth of the Dream it has been distorted and transformed by not only the people; but, the culture and time as well.

The American Dream is a concept that is essentially older than the United States, dating back to the seventeenth century. It was then when people began to come up with hopes and aspirations for the newly discovered, unexplored continent. The “American Dream” is in essence the idea in that puts forward the notion that all people can succeed through hard work, that all people have the right to the pursuit of happiness, and be successful. The definition of the American Dream has been expanded upon and redefined over time. The concept of the American Dream has always been debated and put under criticism. There are many that believe the structure of American Society belies the idealistic goal of the American Dream. It points out examples of

Pressures on society to live the dream can make feelings of low self-worth and turn into pushing people to go further to achieve by any means necessary. The American Dream does not only represent honesty and truth. It has not been uncommon for big CEO’s of companies to lie, cheat and steal to achieve their “American Dream”. This has been common throughout our history of economics. As society grows, wealth is the common denominator for success, and one starts to look up to these people at the top of the ladder to have achieved the dream. These people, who are anything but ethical, are the ones who influence society as what it takes to achieve and live the dream. "He's the man who fixed the World Series back in 1919" (The Great Gatsby, page 78). The dream became so focused on money that any means of a obtaining it were condoned, even if it were unscrupulous. Result of American dream being corrupted is that the motivation and ambition were gone and the dream is left with the pursuit of an empty goal. Ignorance and the ideal of looking out for oneself are prevalent; where as in the pure American Dream striving to accomplish ones' own personal goal is ones main focus. One should use the American Dream for motivation and hope that one can achieve ones personal goal. The American Dream should not

The American Dream is the result of possibilities and success. The term “American Dream” was been invented by James Truslow Adams in 1931: “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.” Another reference to the American Dream appears in the Declaration of Independence (1776). The author wrote that people are “endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” The question of the debate was: “Is the American Dream Still Alive and Well?”

What is the “American Dream”? The American Dream has always been characterized by a thriving job market, opportunities for advancement, stability, etc. It is “the pursuit of individual achievement without consideration for moral or legal restrictions” (Angulski, 2013). This idea dates back as far as 1630 to the puritan colonists. It was first established within a sermon given by John Winthrop while sailing to Massachusetts. This sermon set into motion the ideals that we have adapted today enveloping the “American Dream”. From then on Americans put their faith in the theory that if you work hard and do the right thing you will manifest your goals and eventually attain success and comfortability. The dream of the time was to live in a land where there existed a right to religious freedom and opportunity. This ideal has stuck to this day, however the validity may is no longer intact. The American Dream is a mere afterthought within today’s society, overtaken by massive debt and loss of opportunity. The American Dream is the greatest asset we as a country possess, “the fact that people from across the world still want to come to America to fulfill their dreams, to join a society that they see as dynamic, exciting, and full of potential, is a testament to the great potential of America to improve lives and offer opportunity for all” (Ross, 2016).