The American Dream Research Paper

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Most people have dreams. Dreams are not restricted to just a series of thoughts, images, and sensations occurring in a person's mind during sleep. Dreams can also be goals or ambitions of the individual. These dreams can be big or small, easy or hard. When people, citizen or noncitizen alike, look at America they see an opportunity to achieve The American Dream. The notion of The American Dream has varied from past generations to the present. Since America’s birth many immigrants have left their countries to seek something better for their lives or their families. For those who are in America, they know they have an opportunity that not many others have. The connected goals of those individuals make up The American Dream. There are different …show more content…

The American Dream is a set of ideals that until the 20th century did not have a proper name. Those ideals include freedom, equality and success. According to Historian Saul K Padover from “The American Dream” in The American Journal of Economics and Sociology “[The American Dream] means a dedication to individual freedom, justice under the law, equality of educational and economic opportunity and finally a constant material improvement and well being” (404). These ideals, however are interpreted differently by individuals . For some people The American Dream is their chance to make a better life for their family and themselves. For other people it is a dream to own property like a house or new vehicles. Everyone has a version of The American Dream. The common characteristic of the dream is to be successful, whether it be just for themselves or for their dependents. With some background on The American Dream, one can decide if The American Dream is achievable in the …show more content…

Hard work and dedication are important in achieving the dream, but a lot has changed since the creation of the term. A few things have remained similar like natural disasters, others have changed with society like economy and values. These differences and similarities create or destroy The American Dream. The more society grows, the more The American Dream changes to meet the individual dream. With all the negativity and poorly thought out infrastructure of our society, The American Dream is looking less viable. With all that change comes different and similar obstacles that early Americans faced. Values and hard work and dedication are core ideas and feelings that make the Dream closer to be achieved. Newer generations must learn to appreciate and attempt to get through the hard times. In the end the opportunity to be able to achieve the American Dream is what makes the American Dream so sought out. If the resolution is not strong enough then The American Dream will lose viability and individuals will lose the drive and the belief that the dream can be

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