Today everyone has the right to own land, a home, and start a family of their own otherwise known as the American Dream. Unfortunately this was not always the case as blacks, Hispanics, and other minorities were discriminated upon in the early 60’s to the late 80’s and even still today.
The Fifth, Thirteenth, and Fourteenth amendment are supposed to be in place to treat everyone with equality. From our own declaration “all men are created equal” (Jacobus, 412), these amendments are in place to protect our rights and keep us safe. The Fifth Amendment states that no person shall….. “Be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law….” (Jacobus, 412) However even though we have these laws here to protect us discrimination once plagued our country because of a person’s color, race, or religion. Throughout our history there were many instances of this unfairness, for example “Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Company.” (Jacobus, 412) This case was a huge breakthrough in the fight against discrimination saying that any form of discrimination is a “badge of slavery” (Jacobus, 412) which is a direct violation of the Thirteenth Amendment. “The Supreme Court stated that in enforcing the Civil Rights Act of 1866, Congress is empowered under the Thirteenth Amendment to secure all citizens the right to buy whatever a white man can buy and the right to live wherever a Whiteman can live” (Jacobus, 412). Another historical event that changed the way real estate is handled was the case of Shelley v. Kraemer. This was about Caucasians wanting to impose a deed restriction that only allowed white people to hold deed to land. The State courts granted the motion but the Supreme Court reversed it saying “the action of state courts in imposin...
... middle of paper ...
...ples. 12th ed. Mason OH: On Course Learning, 45040. Print.
2. Russell, Marcia L. 1998. Fair Housing. 2d ed. Chicago, Ill.: Real Estate Education Co.
3. Donovan, S. (2007, September 25). Fair Housing Laws and Presidential Executive Orders -HUD. Fair Housing Laws and Presidential Executive Orders - HUD. Retrieved May 1, 2014, from http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/FHLaws
4. Donovan, S. (2007, September 25). Title VIII: Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity - HUD. Title VIII: Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity - HUD. Retrieved May 1, 2014, from http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/progdesc/title8
5. Sidney, Mara S. 2003. Unfair Housing: How National Policy Shapes Community Action. Lawrence: Univ. Press of Kansas.
6. The Fair Housing Act of 1968 (FHA) (42 U.S.C.A. §§ 3601-3631).
The American Dream has always been a driving force in the lives of Americans. It has become a foundation of ideals and hopes for any American or immigrant. Specifically, one of the ideals that always exist is the dream of America free of class distinction. Every American hopes for a society where every person has the opportunity to be whomever he or she desire. Another ideal in the American dream is the drive to improve the quality of life. As one’s idea of the American Dream gets closer and closer, often times political and social ideals of America cause their American Dream to take a turn for the worst.
The United States’ government has always had a hand on our country’s housing market. From requiring land ownership to vote, to providing public housing to impoverished families, our government has become an irremovable part of the housing market. The effects of these housing policies can affect American residents in ways they might not even recognize. As several historians have concluded, many housing policies, especially those on public housing, either resulted in or reinforced the racial segregation of neighborhoods.
Before reading the different articles on the “American Dream”, I did not know anything about the American Dream. But now I have a better understanding of it. We are living the American Dream. The American Dream is the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative. None of this applies to us because nothing is equal in America. The reasons why I believe that we are not living the American Dream in the 1960s is because we are still living with “Discrimination” according to the Mike Brown case. “Indifference” has a lot to do with the way the society is today. Finally, “Economic Indifference” is also evidence that we are not living
Showing Appleton, WI (n.d.). Retrieved November 24, 2013, from http://sundown.afro.illinois.edu/sundowntownsshow.php?id=566 Title VIII: Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (n.d.). U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Retrieved November 24, 2013, from http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/progdesc/title8 Wexler, L. (2005, October 23).
In the United States' Declaration of Independence the founding fathers stated: ".held certain 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." Through the course of change in the world- either through prosperity, capitalism or greed- people have lost focus on the real meaning of 'the American dream'. It is no longer the gamely aspiration of living life to the fullest, providing a better life for yourself and others; instead, a pursuit of those materialistic aspects of life. American Literae Thomas Wolfe said, ". to every man, regardless of his birth, his shining, golden opportunity.the right to live, to work, to be himself, and to become whatever thing his manhood and his vision can combine to make him."
Squires, G. D., Friedman, S., & Siadat, C. (2001). Housing Segregation in the United States: Does Race Matter? Cambridge, MA.
To understand what is being discussed, one has to understand the underlying problem: rent control, as a result of a shortage of affordable housing. Rent control is defined as “a law placing a maximum price, or a “rent ceiling,” on what landlords may charge tenants” (Block, W. n.d) and is the “stated goal of preserving affordable housing for low- and middle-income families” (Blackwell, L. n.d). Rent control changes depending on the country. In this essay the effects of rent control will be discussed.
In contrast to popular assumption, discrimination in public housing is becoming more prevalent than ever before. Testing done by the Fair Housing Center of Greater Boston has found that today people of color are discriminated against in nearly half of their efforts to buy, sell, finance, or rent property (“1968-Present Housing Discrimination). The statistics are even worse when considering colored people who have families as the testing found that they are discriminated against approximately two thirds of the time (“1968-Present Housing Discrimination”) In addition to facing great difficulty in property affairs, people of color are less likely to be offered residence in desirable locations. 86 percent of revitalized
For many around the world, the United States have become known as the country of opportunity and success. Consequently, many believe in the idea of the American dream, a life abundant with opportunities and with success coming from hard work. The Declaration of Independence further confirms this idea, stating 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.”(Declaration of Independence)
Summers, Lawrence. "Our Inequality of Opportunity." Washington Post. 16 Jul. 2012: A.15. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 24 Mar. 2014.
The meaning of home to older adults transcends the financial and physical qualities of the brick and mortar. Gillsjo, Schwartz-Bardot, & Von Post (2011) suggested that “home was experienced as the place the older adult could not imagine living without, but also as the place one might be forced to leave” (p. 2). Notwithstanding an American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) survey (2010) which showed that the “majority of older adults polled preferred to age in place” (p. 1), the dilemma for many seniors is how to do so when faced with deteriorating housing conditions and “insufficient resources in retirement” (Neil & Neil, 2009, p. 53). In an effort to supplement inadequate retirement incomes, some seniors have capitalized on the “accumulated equity in their homes” (Kroleski, Ryan, & Bottiglieri, 2009, p. 37) through the provision of reverse mortgages. Other elderly homeowners faced with housing conditions that are considered unsafe or unacceptable by objective housing standards, have chosen to stay in their lifelong homes until they are forced to vacate, according to Dee Gillis, City of Gastonia Code Enforcement Administrator, (personal communication, March 23, 2011). Further, Oswald and Wahl (2005) suggested that many elderly homeowners have become oblivious to potential hazards and threats within the home, and have adapted to those environmental obstacles. While the purpose of housing standards and reverse mortgages may be to promote livability in existing housing, the unintended consequences of both may inevitably serve to displace elderly homeowners. Consequently, this paper will examine existing housing quality standards developed by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and by one local mun...
U.S. Department of Justice, (2006). Americans with Disabilities Act. Retrieved February 18, 2008, from ADA Homepage Web site: http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/q%26aeng02.htm
The American Dream is so important to our country and especially for our generation to take seriously. The American Dream is the opportunity to reach the goals one sets for themselves. It is about having your dream job and life you have always fantasized about. The dream is also about having freedom and equality. The American Dream was much easier to attain a few decades ago compared to today. However, it is still possible. The economy was better fifty years ago than it is today. People are in greater debt now and the United States is in higher debt than it was fifty years ago. The American Dream is still possible despite the lack of improvement within social mobility in American society over the past years. The American dream is achievable by being able to live a middle-class lifestyle and that lifestyle is obtainable through hard work and perseverance, even in light of obstacles such as racism. “The American Dream is still achievable, however, the good news is that people at the bottom are just as likely to move up the income ladder today as they were 50 years ago” (O’Brien 1). The ability to attain the American Dream is hindered by race, the middle class, and giving up facing adversity.
Since the mid-1970s, affordable housing has become increasingly difficult to find. This is because Americans are being asked to contribute more and more or their paychecks to their rent and when they become homeless it is difficult to get themselves back into affordable housing. It has been reported that “A full-time worker earning minimum wage cannot afford a one-bedroom unit priced at the Fair Market Rent anywhere in the United States. Nationally a full-time worker must earn $18.32 per hour to afford a two-bedroom apartment at Fair Market Rent.”(National low-income Housing Coalation 2010) Today, our federal minimum wages contributes to our increasing homeless population, while even if you work fulltime making $7.25 isnt even enough to get you off the street. In 1970 there was a...
"All Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among there are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness". It is in this sentence from the Declaration of Independence, that the idea of the American dream has its roots. The phrase, “the American dream” can mean many different things, but among the most basic interpretation is that America is a land of opportunity and freedom for all who come to it. The idea of the American dream has influenced people to come to America in search of economic opportunities, political choice, and religious freedom.