Nelson Lillard

Watknis
M-W-F 9:30
The Evolution of the American Dream
The evolution of the American dream. That is a strange thing to hear.
When people think of the evolution of something they think of the evolution
of a species of animal. Their mind does not go to the American Dream. But
the fact of life is that everything has an evolution even the American Dream.
It has a beginning then it has where it is now and like every evolution it has a
significance of the evolution.
The best place to start would be the beginning of America. On July 4th
1776 the declaration of independence was signed. This marked the
beginning of an idea that was amazing. It began a free nation. A nation that
is free from the rule of a king. A truly free country. The rest of the world saw
this as an invitation to a new start. An invitation for the world to come and
set there packs down and settle down. It was an invitation for them to start
their families. An invitation for a new start. A start that if they made
something of the opportunity, they could turn it in to something great. In the
beginning the American dream was simple. You work hard, and you could
make anything of yourself. No matter where you came. No matter what poor
country that you came from, or what poor family you came from. Once you
stepped on the land of the free if you worked hard you can make something

of yourself. Your family can have the life that you always wanted for them.
Back then the idle life for a family is for them to have a nice big farm with a
lot of fertile land for them to plant their crops so they could in return sell it to
the people at the markets. The idle family would have a fair amount of kids
so they could help their dad on the farm. That is what the ideal family life in
America would look like in the begging of America. That is what most people
from America and beyond would give anything to have. They would travel
from far and wide to get a glimpse of that life style. They would come from
miles around to get that opportunity to go out and make that life their own.
Now back then not everyone in the world wanted that kind of American
dream. The beautiful thing about the American dream is that it is something
that can be interpreted in many different ways. Some wanted to be farmers.
Others wanted to be successful business man. The world was changing at
this time. The kinds of jobs that could be had was endless. I am not saying
that the American dream was the far. I am saying that the American dream is
the opportunity to work your butt off so you can have the option to do
whatever you want.
If we move to the 50s to now the American dream has evolved to
something completely different. Well the dream is the same. But the wants of
the people who achieve the dream has changed drastically. The American
dream is still if you work hard then you get to be able to do whatever you.
That is what America is all about. But form the last paragraph the ideal
family situation would to own a farm with a lot of kids to work it. Now it is the

exact opposite. The dream is for you to find a nice girl. Get married then buy
a nice house surrounded by a white picket fence. That is what the majority of
the Americans want out of life. Let me clarify. I dont actually mean that
everyone wants the same house in the same neighborhood with the same
white picket fence. No I mean the security of all that. I mean being able to
raise your family in an environment that is safe and will insure that your kids
will grow up safe and well. The new thing to the American dream is
education. Back in the 1800s and 1900s. Education was not really the most
important thing to be done with your free time. Plus you really did not need
any education most people worked on farms, or they basically sold stuff or
worked at a printing press. So there was not as much need for education as
there is now. But now its like you cant have any job without some form of
degree. Whether it be a high school or a college degree. Most high paying
jobs means that you have to have some sort of college degree. The dream is
that you go to college and get that degree so you can obtain that security for
your family. But I realize that not everyone wants a family. So like I said the
American Dream is something that can be interpreted in many different
ways. Their dream could be going out and getting a butt load of money.
Getting that high rise apartment. With a wicked fast car. But that is their own
interpretation of the dream.
Every kind of evolution has a purpose, even something as strange as
the evolution of American Dream. But the purpose of the evolution is simply
so we can move forward. Every evolution is a kind of moving forward. It is a

kind of adapting to the changes to their surroundings. In this case the

changes were the world around us. All thru the evolutions of the American
dream there has been changes to the world around it. The changes are so
massive that it pushes the evolution to the point that it can change and
adapt. But at the same time keeping the same ideas of the original. The
changes can be something as small as the printing press or as big as the car.
Everything pushes it forward. There is not telling what the American dream
will have in store for us in 100 more years. We might be on mars, the dream
could be living there. Or it could simply just stay the same. Or god forbid the
American dream could die out altogether. That is the worst sinario, it is also
the least likely one. The way we are now. Sure it is scary. But we are America
we can get thru anything. That is the beauty of the American dream. If you
work hard enough then you can achieve anything.
The Evolution of something as strange as the American dream. That is
a strange thing to talk about. But it is also the thing that needs to be talked
about. We need to prepare our selfs for when it does reaches the next step.
When It dose reach that step we need to remember how it was in the
begging and how it is today also the significance of all of it.

Works Cited
Jimmy, Carter. The Home Place. Models for writers
Short essays for composition. Alfred Rosa and Paul Escholz.
New York Bedford/St. Martins 2007 185-188

Robert Rameriz.The Barrio. Models for writers

Short essays for composition. Alfred Rosa and Paul Escholz.
New York Bedford/St. Martins 2007 322-326

Stanly McChrystal.Lincolns Call to Action- and Ours. Models for writers

Short essays for composition. Alfred Rosa and Paul Escholz.
New York Bedford/St. Martins 2007 563-566

Bharati Mukhegee Two ways to live in America. Models for writers

Short essays for composition. Alfred Rosa and Paul Escholz.
New York Bedford/St. Martins 2007 504-508