Opportunity is defined in Webster's Dictionary as 'A good position, chance or prospect for achievement'; which is easily connected to the idea of The American Dream. After all, isn't America known as 'The land of opportunity';? Most people came to America, and still come for that matter, in search of a better life through hard work and dedication to their cause. In 'Chinaman's Chance: Reflections on the American Dream'; by Eric Liu, it is stated that '...it (the American Dream) does demand the opportunity to achieve progress-and values the opportunity as much as the achievement.'; This statement is imperative because it gives recognition to those who try to reach their goals, even if they cannot achieve them fully. Throughout history, we see people voyaging to America in search of a new life and new opportunities. Whether it be the Puritans escaping religious persecution, the Colonists in search of a new crop to make them rich, or immigrants looking for a better place to live and raise their children, all are given a chance to achieve the goals they have set for themselves in America. For example, when the Puritans came to America in search of religious freedom, they were given the opportunity to start fresh and practice their faith; most of them cherished this occasion and eventually achieved spiritual fulfillment. Of course, this achievement was not effortless: the Puritans demanded more strict doctrines and often fought among themselves in order to agree on such things. Th...
The American Dream is a concept elegantly simple and yet peculiarly hard to define. At the root of it is the sense that America was created entirely separate from the Old World; the settlers had escaped from the feudal, fractious and somewhat ossified nations of Europe and been presented with a chance to start anew - "a fresh green breast of the new world." From this blank slate, those first idealistic settlers had created a society where "all men are created equal" and everyone had the chance to do the best for themselves as they could. Let us examine the passage from the Declaration of Independence from which that quote is taken:
The American Dream is a dream that no matter what race you or what social class you are born in you are still able to achieve it no matter what. Many believe that the American Dream doesn't exist and that you cannot achieve the American Dream, however they are wrong. America provides access to the American Dream because people who make sacrifices are able to become successful, people are able to become closer to God, and people are able to get a better education.
The American Dream according to the collaborative efforts of the Oxford Dictionary and Bing Translator is "the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative". The American Dream was originally made as the idea that anyone can be successful in America, that regardless of your background you can go from rags to riches almost overnight with the proper effort. It seems to me however, that the modern idea of the American Dream is different. To me, the American Dream is the idea that one can live life as they choose without any individual having the right to belittle their ideal life. That is not to say you can live the life of a criminal and no one would care, but you can choose what and who you want in your life without being supressed. In America today, you can be almost any religion you desire, love someone of any gender, and choose a career path for yourself that you want without others forcing religion, opinions, or ideas upon you. This idea to me is the modern ideal of the American Dream, but regardless of which view of the dream you believe in it thrives within America, and both ideas of the dream still pertain
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 "American dream" is different for every person. To some it means financial success, to others it means freedom of expression, while others dream to practice their religion without fear. The "American dream" is a complex concept providing immigrants with the hope of better life. The U.S. government provides the environment and resources for everyone to pursue their dreams. Each year millions of people around the world apply for the Diversity Visa lottery program provided by the U.S. government, however only a few thousand people are lucky enough to come here. America is the place where people are judged by their achievements instead of having references or connections. Even though the American economy is in recession and the achieving of the American Dream is harder, many immigrants still achieve religious, political, financial, and sports dreams here in the U.S.
Thus, here in the new land, they view as useful, not as in their home where they were viewed as useless. This tells us that to be an American is to look for one’s happiness. Here they have the opportunity to grow. In this new land, they learn to grow and become better than yesterday. As Crevecoeur states, “The American is a new man, who acts upon new principles; he must therefore, entertain new ideas, and form new opinions” (Crevecoeur 290).
The American Dream is the belief that anybody can achieve anything in life. America is known as the country of opportunity regardless of race, gender or nationality. The land of opportunity and equality rights and liberty. The American Dream is to be successful no matter what social class an individual belongs to. The opportunity for upward mobility through hard work leads to a successful life. Individuals in society often strive to obtain many resources that are important. The structure of the economy is typically related to education, occupation, housing, and health care which are not distributed equally to enable an individual to achieve equal opportunity some will have to go through hardship in order to obtain it. The lack of social mobility makes the
The American Dream, recognized as being the earning of a college degree, the owning of one 's own home, taking vacations and experiencing upward social mobility, is a very important belief that helped create the success that America is today. Many people believe that anyone who works hard and has determination can achieve this American Dream. In this day and age, experiencing the American Dream is believed to no longer be as available to Americans as it once was. The economy and corporate America have had a strong impact on the availability to reach this state of success. Everyone wants to live the American Dream, whether they know it or not. I have never met a person who did not want to become successful. Even I had a strong belief that the
The American Dream is something that anyone no matter their background, social standings, or ethnicity can improve their life through hard work.
The American dream is the idea held by many in the United States of America that through hard work, courage and determination one can achieve prosperity.
The American Dream, is about becoming something, to the best way to achieve fulfillment of ones life. The dream is and always has been a reality. The more that Americans and immigrants insist on the dream as a right, and pursue it with determination, the more likely it will be to remain a live option accessible to all. The dream does not originate from America; it derives from us, the people. If we exert all our efforts, we at any moment in American history are more likely to be what the country had intended to become. With that predicament already visible, every advance we make may very well lead to another, and every realization of the American Dream will evolve.
When the term ‘American Dream’ was first mentioned in 1931 by James Truslow Adams, he described it as “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.” (Clark). When Adams mentioned the term, it had much more of an idealistic meaning, rather than the materialistic meaning it has in modern society. At the time of it’s mention, the dream meant that prosperity was available to everyone. In the beginning, the American Dream simply promised a country in which people had the chance to work their way up through their own labor and hard work (Kiger). Throughout history, the basis of the dream has always been the same for each individual person. It
The American Dream is something that most Americans strive to obtain most of their lives. Opportunities are all round us it 's just whether are circumstance allow us to take them. Like have a financially unstable home, being unable to attend school or being able to take care of themselves. According to King " The American Dream of dream of today is a trimmed down version of it 's former self "(King 611). In other words, King believes back then this was the definition of the American Dream, but as the years of generations have passed, they have added and changed the definition of the dream allowing it to be more achievable for everyone. Every shape and size and no matter the gender.
The American Dream was and always will be something that makes America great. It allows those with aspirations to make them come true. In America alone needs is a dream and the motivation to carry out that dream. Ambition is the driving force behind the American Dream. It allows any one that has an aspiration, a desire, a yearning, to carry out the individual dream. It knows no bounds of race, creed, gender or religion. It stands for something great, something that every one can strive towards. A dream can be a desire for something great. In America, the American Dream allows dreams to become realities. According to Webster's New World Dictionary, the American Dream is defined as "An American social ideal that' stresses egalitarianism and especially material prosperity". To live this dream is to succeed. It allows anyone, rich or poor to have the opportunity to succeed. It is the ability to come from nothing and become so me thing. To succeed at any thing you do, you must have patience and persistence. It requires hard work, persistence and a desire for something better. To have these qualities and the desire and ambition to carry the moutis part of the American Dream.
Although the American Dream is an important part of American culture, it has been becoming more difficult to obtain each year economically for many Americans. The American Dream is defined as the ideal that every U.S. citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative. This dream was used in the book The Epic of America by James Truslow Adams, a popular historian. The book was on the history of America, and popularized the term American Dream, but the idea has been around for centuries. When settlers first came to populate Jamestown, many sought religious freedom. Others looked for economic opportunity and gold, an idea which is still around today (Meacham 1). This dream