The History of the American Dream
The American Dream is widely considered to be the most important national ethos of the United States of America. The ideology of the American Dream is that the basic rights of freedom and liberty in the US include the opportunity for everyone in the land to achieve prosperity, success and upward social mobility through hard work and determination. It is centred on the right of individuals to determine their own destiny, regardless of their circumstances of birth. However, this is only a broad definition, as the American Dream itself is intangible, and takes on its own unique meaning for each individual throughout various time periods in the history of the United States of America.
Though the historian James Truslow Adams is credited with coining the phrase “the American dream” in his book Epic America (1931), the origin of the Dream itself is ingrained in the earliest days of American settlement. The Puritans, who had been persecuted for their belief system in their native Britain, fled to the New World throughout the seventeenth century, in search of a new beginning. In 1630, John Winthrop delivered his renowned “city upon the hill” sermon to his fellow Puritan colonist as they made their way to the area now known as Massachusetts. While he never specifically used the word “dream” in this iconic address, he did eloquently detail his vision for this new colony, built on the hope that everyone would have the opportunity to prosper, which had been denied to them in their homeland for generations. Gradually, this vision of opportunity evolved in the minds of the settlers to become a God-given right, and exists today as the American Dream.
The importance of the American Dream as a national ethos is highlighted through allusions to it in the Declaration of Independence, which formed the basis for the United States of America as a nation. In it, the Founding Fathers of America, including the likes of Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and John Adams, clearly
Though the historian James Truslow Adams is credited with coining the phrase “the American dream” in his book Epic America (1931), the origin of the Dream itself is ingrained in the earliest days of American settlement. The Puritans, who had been persecuted for their belief system in their native Britain, fled to the New World throughout the seventeenth century, in search of a new beginning. In 1630, John Winthrop delivered his renowned “city upon the hill” sermon to his fellow Puritan colonist as they made their way to the area now known as Massachusetts. While he never specifically used the word “dream” in this iconic address, he did eloquently detail his vision for this new colony, built on the hope that everyone would have the opportunity to prosper, which had been denied to them in their homeland for generations. Gradually, this vision of opportunity evolved in the minds of the settlers to become a God-given right, and exists today as the American Dream.
The importance of the American Dream as a national ethos is highlighted through allusions to it in the Declaration of Independence, which formed the basis for the United States of America as a nation. In it, the Founding Fathers of America, including the likes of Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and John Adams, clearly