The American Dream, Essay Example

The American Dream is probably one of the most miscomprehended concepts in the world.   People from other places do not really understand it, and Americans themselves often define it by their most current situation.  For example, the fist immigrants were looking for religious and political freedom in the new world.  That was their American dream.  The colonists wanted no taxation without representation in London.  19the century pioneers wanted a good piece of land and a family to homestead.  African Americans wanted and end to forced servitude. The Native Americans wanted to keep their way of life.  Cattlemen wanted grazing land. Gold miners wanted the mother load. Industrialists wanted modern technology.  Bootleggers wanted an end to prohibition.  Women wanted the right to vote. Men wanted an end to war.  After World War II, everyone wanted a car, a home in the suburbs, a descent job, and a TV.  Then people wanted equal rights for everyone. African Americans wanted the right to vote. Women wanted equal wages.  Hippies wanted drugs.  Everyone wanted a dismantling of mutually assured destruction.  Now, people want piece in the Middle East. The point is that the American Dream is not static.  It changes over time.  Nevertheless, if a person had to give an over arching description of the idea in words it would start with an ideal.  The ideal is that everyone deserves to live their lives as they see fit.  Often this ideal has been illusive for much of the population at one time or another, and presumably, we continue to approach this ideal.  At first, it only included non-indentured white male landowners.  Then, it included people who did not own land. Then it included Blacks and women.  Now, we are beginning to include undocumented immigrants. The point is that the ideal is perfect, liberty for all, but the practice is still in the early stages of growth.

Work Cited

“What is the American Dream?” loc.gov. The Library of Congress, n.d. Web. 18 June 2011. <http://memory.loc.gov:8081/learn/lessons/97/dream/thedream.html>