LABIANO, KRISHIANNE LOUISE C.

, ENG 411, I- LLB

THE AMERICAN DREAM

America was the end result from centuries of conflict against monarchy. The country has
gone through a bloody and painful birth as a nation. The USA was the final experiment which
resulted in a Republic.

The Development of the American Dream started throughout the Colonization where
the beginning of what would come to be known as the United States, land of the free came
about. During the Industrial Revolution, rural Americans left the life of simplicity to join the big
city bustle. Hope for prosperity in these cities was ignited to attain the dream of many
Americans. The Signing of the Declaration of Independence explains that “all men are created
equal” and are given the right of “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” in the United States.
Although the name American Dream has not yet been coined, this historic document suggests
the beginnings of a later developed national philosophy.

The American Dream was first publicly defined in 1931. Historian James Truslow
Adams book of “Epic of America” popularized the term “American Dream”. It also epitomized
that it is not an expedition for material items or wealth but “is that dream of a land in which life
should be better and richer and fuller for everyone…” Adams went on to say that it is not, "... a dream
of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman
shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others
for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position.” The American Dream
is "the charm of anticipated success” and is protected by the Declaration of Independence. This
charm has drawn millions of immigrants to U.S. shores leading to the rise of American
consumerism defining the purchasing of material items as the “good life”.

The American Dream changed the course of America itself. It started diminishing from
the right to make a better life to the desire to acquire material things. This modification was
portrayed in the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel, The Great Gatsby. In it, the character of Daisy
Buchanan cries when she laid eyes on Jay Gatsby’s shirts, because she has “never seen such—such
beautiful shirts before.” The Dream of The Great Gatsby was “an orgiastic future that year by year
recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matter -- tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our
arms farther..." This ravenousness steered to the stock market crash of 1929 and the Great
Depression.

The New Dream foundation established optimism in raising awareness of the negativity
of a hyper-consumer American culture by “cultivating a new American Dream.” The nation's
leaders verbalized the evolution of the American Dream by granting equal opportunity to
slaves, supporting the voting rights of women, protecting workers from discrimination on the
basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy) or national origin and etc.

But still, in a January 13th press release, Obama voices his concern that “The American
Dream is slipping out of reach for many families…” The American Dream is also pictured in the
cover of a Magazine, indicating a mounting concern as regards to the declining ability of
Americans to achieve the American Dream. For some Americans, it may already be dead. While
latest consumer confidence surveys show that Americans look as if they are somewhat
optimistic about the overall economy, most censuses and studies indicates that it is anxious
about their economic future. Many Americans no longer seemed to believe that they will ever
be financially safeguarded or stabled. The belief that “you can succeed financially with hard work
and determination” has been a fundamental principle of the American Dream. Now more than
three-quarters of all Americans have lost reliance in it, blaming politically, President Obama, for
pushing economic policies that harm the middle class.

There are many disputes over the definition of the American Dream these days. Some
even ruminated that it has been the “End of the American Dream”. But this stimulating dogma
from the Founding Fathers will continue to develop and move forward. The right to pursue
happiness and the right to disagree about what that means are what makes the American
Dream so powerful.