Jump to content

American Dream

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 76.185.24.4 (talk) at 01:59, 4 June 2007 (→Expressing the American Dream). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
For other uses, see American Dream (disambiguation).
Historical American flags in Washington, DC: the Betsy Ross flag hangs on both ends and the classic Old Glory is to each side of the current 50-state version.

The American Dream is the idea (often associated with the Protestant work ethic) held by many in the United States that through hard work, courage and determination one could achieve prosperity. These were values held by many early European settlers, and have been passed on to subsequent generations. What the American dream has become is a question under constant discussion.

Historical background

The Statue of liberty was for many immigrants the first point of view of the United States. It signifies freedom and personal liberty and is iconic of the American Dream.

The origin of the American Dream, a term coined by James Truslow Adams his book "The Epics of America" (1931), stems from the departure in government and economics from the models of the Old World. Additionally, from the American Revolutionary War well into the later half of the eighteenth century, many of America's physical resources were unclaimed and held out the promise of land ownership and lucky investment in land or industry in the nineteenth century. In the American dream apples are usually associated with success. The development of the Industrial Revolution combined with the great natural resources of the enormous and as yet unsettled (by Europeans) continent created the possibility of achieving wealth and transitioning "from rags to riches".

The living conditions in Europe and the hope of a better standard of living in America led to the migration of hundreds of thousands to the new world. Impoverished western Europeans escaping the potato famines in Ireland, the Highland clearances in Scotland and the aftermath of Napoleon in the rest of Europe went to America to escape their old life. They had heard about the government in America and hoped for an escape from their old life.

The Industrial Revolution was one of the great forces that developed the American Dream. The development of big business, the Transcontinental Railroad, and the increase in oil production greatly increased the American standard of living. "Rags to riches" stories of business tycoons like Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller led to the belief that if you had talent and worked extremely hard, you were more likely to live a successful life.

"The ideal of freedom and opportunity that motivated the Founding Fathers; the spiritual strength of the nation. Katherine Lee Bates wrote in 1893 ‘America the Beautiful' of a ‘patriot dream that sees beyond the years.’ In 1960 the poet Archibald MacLeish, debating ‘national purpose,’ said: ‘There are those, I know, who will reply that the liberation of humanity, the freedom of man and mind, is nothing but a dream. They are right, It is. It is the American dream.’ The American Dream, to some, stresses opportunity. The phrase defies definition as much as it invites discussion. As a force behind government philosophy, it seems to be interpreted by most users as a combination of freedom and opportunity with growing overtones of social justice" - From “Safire’s New Political Dictionary” by William Safire (Random House, New York, 1993).

History

The American Dream could be said to have existed really as far back as the founding of the Thirteen Colonies. People risked the dangerous Atlantic crossing in order to begin a new life in America where one could become wealthy and (supposedly) free from prejudices of any sort.

The 19th century however, is the era in which the American Dream was the strongest. During the California Gold Rush of 1849, thousands flocked to America in order to seek their fortunes in gold.

The advancements in technology in the late 20th century resulted in unparalleled economic growth. The arrival of computers, the Internet, and other modern technologies created hundreds of thousands of high-paying jobs and increased the national standard of living.

Criticism

The United States has been criticized for failing to live up to the ideal of success available to everyone who is willing to work hard. High paying jobs in the United States increasingly require some sort of college or university degree, but higher education can be very expensive, around $10,000 per year at public institutions on average, going up to as high as $50,000 per year at the most prestigious private colleges (NYU, for example, has increased its tuition to around $49,000 for the 2007-2008 school year).[citation needed] Financial aid is widely available, whereby the poorest students are increasingly being given guarantees of a high proportion (up to 100%) of grants, removing the obligation to pay back their university; or low-interest student loans, which are tax-deductible. However, for those without need-based or merit aid, the costs of higher education can be prohibitively expensive, which can act as a bar from entering professions that require a college degree. Henceforth, the inability to obtain a quality education is a major factor in the ability to capture the American Dream.

Automobile ownership has technically become compulsory under the popular perception of the American Dream, leading to a civil rights issue that author Joel S. Hirschorn calls automobile apartheid, meaning that persons who cannot drive or do not own automobiles are discriminated against and denied freedom of mobility. Many analysts disagree on whether the American Dream should be about driving automobiles or using cheap, readily available public transit.

Expressing the American Dream

There are many books, plays and other forms of literature which have defined, explored or denounced the American Dream. Some more well known examples are:

In Books


In Music

  • The song "American Dream" by the Christian rock band Casting Crowns focuses on the idea of the American Dream, as the title implies.[1] The music video put out by the band also displays a somewhat darker and yet realistic side of the American Dream.
  • The rapper Mr. Lif's critical and frustrated song "I Phantom" says "American Dream, time for another story".
  • The song Know Your Enemy by Rage Against the Machine, in an exploration of the negative aspects of American life, ends with: "Compromise, conformity, assimilation, submission, Ignorance, hypocrisy, brutality, the elite, All of which are American dreams."
  • Switchfoot, on their album, Oh! Gravity, released a track called "American Dream" in which they proclaim: "This ain't my American dream, I want to live and die for bigger things, I'm tired of fighting for just me."
  • The American Dream is present in "A.D.D." by System of a Down. In this song, they proclaim "The remainder is an unjustifiable egotistical power struggle at the expense of the American Dream, of the American dream,of the American..."
  • The Scottish band Idlewild mention the American Dream on their song "American English" - "then you contract the American Dream, you'll never look up once, so don't look up".
  • The song "American Life" by "Madonna" features the line "American life, I live the American dream."

In Film

  • [Scareface] Directed by [Brian De Palma]
  • [The Pursuit of Happyness] Directed by [Gabriele Muccino]

References

  • Adams, James Truslow. (1931). The Epic of America. Simon Publications 2001 paperback: ISBN 1-931541-33-7
  • Cullen, Jim. (2003). The American Dream: A Short History of an Idea that Shaped a Nation. Oxford University Press, 2004 paperback: ISBN 0-19-517325-2
  • Fossum, Robert H., and John K. Roth. (1981). The American Dream. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 0-9504601-6-8
  • Luntz, Frank. "Americans Talk About the American Dream," in The New Promise of American Life, edited by Lamar Alexander and Chester E. Finn, Jr., Hudson Institute, Indianapolis (1995).
  • Samuelson, Robert J. (1995). The Good Life and Its Discontents: The American Dream in the Age of Its Entitlement, 1945–1995. New York: Vintage, 1997 paperback: ISBN 0-679-78152-8. Suggests raising the retirement age and means testing of entitlements to manage unfunded government commitments.
  • Max Payne

See also

Template:US topics

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=American_Dream&oldid=135690799"