IN SEARCH OF THE AMERICAN DREAM
REVISION NOTES
The term ‘American Dream’ has often been used on the immigrants to mean the search for prosperity
and opportunity through hard work. It has been a uniting factor for Americans over centuries and has
been used to motivate and encourage patriotism. As evidenced by the authors dating back as early as
the 20th century, the American dream had been used differently in varying concepts.
The American Dream is a set of ethos encompassing national ideals. The term advocates for the social
mobility of the general society through hard work. The American values fostered herein are liberty,
democracy, human rights, opportunity, and equality. According to the definition by James Truslow
Adams in the year 1931, the opportunity is viewed as an equal chance to everyone through realizable by
individual effort summarized by the American values. Adams further made a claim that life should be full
and richer for all members of society regardless of their social classification or
birth(CALDWELL,575,2006). From this definition, we may confidently conclude that in the attempts to
give definition to the American dream, Adams regarded the American political ideologies to be
components that make up the concept.
The declaration of independence is also an aspect of the American dream. Since it supports the
realization of opportunities for only those who work hard for their betterment, then it leads to the
proclamation that all men were created equally. The political ideology of equality is visible in the
definition. Also, since the realization of opportunities is solely dependent on the individual effort, then
liberty is an aspect in the ‘American Dream’. Moreover, enshrined in the constitution is the right to “life,
liberty and the pursuit of happiness”. The constitution spells out the freedom to realize prosperity
through the acquisition of liberty. Therefore, the American dream spans across the generation of
American society, not only on the social aspect but also the political class. The term carries historical
meaning straight from the constitution. The statement
REVISION NOTES
The term ‘American Dream’ has often been used on the immigrants to mean the search for prosperity
and opportunity through hard work. It has been a uniting factor for Americans over centuries and has
been used to motivate and encourage patriotism. As evidenced by the authors dating back as early as
the 20th century, the American dream had been used differently in varying concepts.
The American Dream is a set of ethos encompassing national ideals. The term advocates for the social
mobility of the general society through hard work. The American values fostered herein are liberty,
democracy, human rights, opportunity, and equality. According to the definition by James Truslow
Adams in the year 1931, the opportunity is viewed as an equal chance to everyone through realizable by
individual effort summarized by the American values. Adams further made a claim that life should be full
and richer for all members of society regardless of their social classification or
birth(CALDWELL,575,2006). From this definition, we may confidently conclude that in the attempts to
give definition to the American dream, Adams regarded the American political ideologies to be
components that make up the concept.
The declaration of independence is also an aspect of the American dream. Since it supports the
realization of opportunities for only those who work hard for their betterment, then it leads to the
proclamation that all men were created equally. The political ideology of equality is visible in the
definition. Also, since the realization of opportunities is solely dependent on the individual effort, then
liberty is an aspect in the ‘American Dream’. Moreover, enshrined in the constitution is the right to “life,
liberty and the pursuit of happiness”. The constitution spells out the freedom to realize prosperity
through the acquisition of liberty. Therefore, the American dream spans across the generation of
American society, not only on the social aspect but also the political class. The term carries historical
meaning straight from the constitution. The statement
