In The Declaration of Independence, founding forefathers conveyed the credo declaring anyone on these shores possesses God-ordained liberty to seek after happiness, and thus the idea of the American Dream was born. ("Declaration Of Independence: A Transcription") https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript. The simple aspiration, “the pursuit of happiness,” ignited the imaginations of countless people worldwide; it is accessible by anyone in America who applies himself to that end. The American Dream is attainable based on integrity (morals), creativity, and faith. The first and foremost element of the American Dream is faith. The American Dream is attainable based on a foundation of faith. Faith provides drive and momentum to keep moving toward what we want, though it is unclear how to acquire the goal. The Holy Scripture proclaims that faith is being certain “of what we …show more content…
The piece maintains that a prominent reason that inspired positive hopes among people-of-color was the election of President Barack Obama, and seeing other Black role models in prominent and celebrated positions such as American Ballet Theatre’s prima ballerina Misty Copeland (Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem. "The Pride and Pitfalls of Being a Black Role Model." Time, vol. 187, no. 11, 28 Mar. 2016, p. 62. EBSCOhost,
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:
In attempting to define the American Dream, considered more of an individual definition today, one would need to take into consideration the cultural background and location of the individual. In April of 1630, traveling across the Atlantic on board the sailing vessel Arbella, the original American Dream was a community sense of hope and prosperity among English Puritans seeking a new beginning in New England. Before setting sail, from Southampton on that chilly April day in 1630, Reverend John Cotton provided the company with a farewell sermon entitled “God’s Promise to His Planation.” Starting the sermon with a reading from the second book of Samuel, Chapter 7, verse 10: “I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and I will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more.” Cotton is confirming what many had already decided upon, that they were God’s chosen people and it was their right and duty to America and carry out his work.
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."
The American Dream still lives today in society in which people strive to the top and accomplish their goals in life. James Truslow Adams coined the term in 1931 in his book called “American Dream”. He stated in the book "life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement". The importance of this quote in Adams’ novel is that the American Dream can be achieved by anyone (Warshauer 3). There are no limits and bounds to these emotions and people from any social class can seek their dreams and desires in life. Over the years the definition of the American Dream has changed, but the underlying fundamental meaning had stayed the same. The American mentality is basically participation in the economy and society in order to gain a better social standard and be prosperous. The United States Declaration of Independence also had some influence in the definition of the American Dream. In the Declaration of Independence it states all men are "endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights" includi...
Achieving the American Dream has been the ideal for people living in the United States for decades. People believed that the way to get there was through hard work, also known as the “Protestant work ethic”. The American Dream can vary depending on the person. Some people think that owning a house with a white picket-fence is the American Dream while others think that it is becoming a celebrity with a lot of money.
The American Dream was derived from the United States Declaration of Independence which states that, “All mean are created equal” and that they are “endowed by their creator with certain inalienable Rights” including “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness” (US 1776). This means that every person has equal opportunity
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)
The American Dream, the dream that defines what America is back then and today. What is the American dream? This American dream is a promise that gave people all over the world the courage to leave their countries. These people traveled the distance to obtain the promise that they heard about. This promise was freedom, and opportunity which played a big role in these people’s lives. These are people coming from third world countries who don’t have the freedom of religion or maybe something else, others also didn’t have the opportunity to obtain their dreams. The American dream founded by the fathers of America. Based on the three things America is founded by freedom, opportunity, and money which empowers the American Dream. Ever since the foundation
"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.
With America actually being seen as the land of assurance, the American dream is usually associated with the freedom and opportunity of gaining prosperity, recognition, power, triumph, and contentment. On the surface, this dream appears virtually delighted, offering individuals the exceptional hope of accomplishing success despite of one’s race, religion, or family history. The American Dream is accurately what it seems to be the chance of perfect lying nearby the corner. However, the actual nature of this dream prohibit the pleasure of the victory one has earned, as the desire is always demanding one to work a slight harder and gain a slightly more.
A lot of American historians say "The American Dream" even has its beginnings in the Declaration of Independence and the first European Settlers because the basic idea is that every man and every woman shall, regardless of their birth, achieve what there are able to do. Everybody shall be treated and seen equally and be recognized by others for what they are and have reached, referring to their
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
Americans have the opportunity to pursue what they love and achieve their goals in life (Rank np). Many people in America have different ideas and pictures in their heads of what the American Dream means. From the idea that it's about making a lot of money and owning a big house, to creating a good life for your children in a good environment there is a wide range of meanings of the dream. Others believe that America is this great melting pot full of people with all sorts of different ethnic backgrounds (Michels np). The American Dream was first introduced during America’s great depression by a man named James Truslow Adams. He first came up with the phrase “The American Dream” in his book, The Epic of America. In his book he taught Americans what they had to do in order to live the dream (Wills np). Explaining the Dream, Adams told America, that “the American Dream is the belief of the American society that each individual can, through hard working and strength of mind, achieve anything.” (Michels np) People still use the ideas from his book and use them in everyday
In the Oxford Dictionary, the American Dream is defined as the traditional social ideals of the United States of America: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. People have the right of life and liberty, but happiness is not a right. Happiness can only be given by the amount of effort a person gives. People who have determination to devote their Life and exercise their Liberty to the accomplishment of discovering their talent and use what they like doing to achieve a goal. The film, Pursuit of Happiness, shows the American Dream being achieved by the main character, Chris Gardner, by working hard and using his talents. Chris Gardner in The Pursuit of Happyness goes through overcoming obstacles which shows that the American Dream is possible through faith, perseverance, and a focus on family values.
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.