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The American Dream A Brief History. “I came to America because I heard that streets here were...
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![Page 1: The American Dream A Brief History. “I came to America because I heard that streets here were paved with gold. When I came I learned three things: first:](https://reader036.fdocuments.net/reader036/viewer/2022070401/56649f1f5503460f94c37ede/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
The American DreamA Brief History
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“I came to America because I heard that streets here were
paved with gold. When I came I learned three things:
first: streets in America are not paved with gold;
second: streets in America are not paved at all;
third: I am expected to pave them.”
• Recollections of 1900's immigrant
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The Start of the American Dream
• The revolutionists believed in an America where everyone was treated equally
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Early Days: Manifest Destiny
• Because of all of the unused resources, and America expanding, immigrants came to America
• Immigrants could improve their social standing in one generation
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1930s: Fear and Hoarding
• In 1931, writer James Truslow Adams gives them one: “that Americans dream of a better, richer, and happier life for all our citizens of every rank.”
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1940s: War and Consequences
• More people could now attend college, buy cars, and have a large family
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1950s: The Calm Between the Storms
• Post-War plenitude—and post-traumatic stress—reinforce family values, as seen on TV, which serves to distract Americans from the threat of war and the counterculture movement.
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1960s: The Big Boom
• A new generation rejects the cautious materialism of their parents for an expressive, exuberant form of idealism (that canny marketers are only too happy to monetize).
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1970s: Oil Bust
• The idealism of the 60s gives way to all-out pleasure-seeking behavior, but oil shocks and rampant inflation ensure that luxury is defined as nothing fancier than polyester jumpsuits and attending nightclubs.
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1980s: Nouveau Pastiche
• A new diverse middle class appears
• This is personified by Bill Cosby, whose TV persona, Cliff Huxtable, somehow earns millions while practicing obstetrics in Brooklyn Heights.
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1990s: eDREAMING
• People want to be able to buy a third car, private planes, or another house
• Extremely materialistic (selfish, money-oriented)
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2000s: A Dream Deferred?
• The American Dream runs amok. Strung out on diet pills, wrapped in Sunggies, Twittering away their pursuit of happiness, Americans, led by a frat boy with a meaningless M.B.A., achieve the dream of talking about themselves. Then, in the fall of 2008, they hit bottom.
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“What does the phrase ‘The American dream’ mean to
you?”• Four years ago, 19 percent of those
surveyed supplied answers that related to financial security and a steady job, and 20 percent gave answers that related to freedom and opportunity.
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Today
“Freedom to live our own life.”
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“Created equal.”
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“Someone could start from nothing.”
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“That everybody has a fair chance to succeed.”
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“To become whatever I want to be.”
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“To be healthy and have nice family and friends.”
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“More like Huck Finn; escape to the unknown; follow your dreams.”
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James Truslow Adams
• “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 the fullest stature of which they are innately capable.”
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American Dream•What is your American Dream?
•How do you hope to accomplish this dream?
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Works Cited
• http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2009/03/an-american-dream-timeline
• http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/08/us/08dreampoll.html