James Truslow Adams: The Meaning Of The American Dream

Improved Essays
When we refer to the the American Dream it doesn’t have a specific definition for all of us together because it’s meant for all of us and our definition of the term is different for many people because we all have our own American Dream. The term “American Dream” was invented by a historian named James Truslow Adams in 1931. What he meant by the term “American Dream” was "That dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for every man, with opportunity for each according to his ability or achievement." James Truslow Adams expresses the fact that we all should have the right to live free and up to our potential. That we should all have the opportunity to work to our abilities and achievements until we get what we want …show more content…
It’s no longer something that we desire to have or to show off our skills to get what we want it’s now made up of greed. And because of that it does not show the true meaning of the American Dream which represents the motivation you have for something you really want.
Although the American Dream isn’t just about the businesses and promotion concept but it is also used by politicians to get more votes and to keep their people happy. Politicians work on their own with their own plans. Like so, different political parties have their own plans when it comes to helping out certain members in a society to help lead toward and achieve the american dream.
The democratic party supports and provides the help that common workers need to achieve their american dream and with doing that they have more advantages of helping people get a job. They guarantee to help those that aren’t good workers find a job that fits them and it then helps them be like everyone else, earning some money and having their own home. On the other hand the republican party believes more in a way that relates to the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence. In their point of view its differently from the democratic party because instead of helping those who need jobs they reward those who are successful only which is all the wealthy people and they have an economical system to do
…show more content…
Both political parties know that it is impossible to achives the american dream completely and have everyone living in it. “As a matter of fact, most people are kept in perpetual debt their whole lives in order to maintain a standard of living consistent with the new ideal of the American Dream. It's this unattainable dream that drives both parents into the workplace, working longer and harder than ever before, which contributes to the ills of society.” (http://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/7943/self_improvement_and_motivation/the_politics_of_the_american_dream.html). The author is telling us that people are owing so much money so they can keep their way of living a stable life and living up to the American Dream, and it is what is driving people to working more than they did which later on creates problems in

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Era Of Good Feelings Dbq

    • 575 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Democratic Party primarily consisted of the common people, who did not have the desire to pay higher prices for what they bought because of tariffs, favored by the Whigs. They believed in laissez faire, the belief that the government should leave businesses alone, neither helping nor obstructing it. This way people would not be loaded with taxes to support businesses, and that everyone that was negligent would be able to take care of…

    • 575 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Democrats want to make everyone happy with the economy, if you're rich or poor. They want to make sure that everyone is treated fairly with the…

    • 1178 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Third Parties Reforms

    • 422 Words
    • 2 Pages

    They reformed the length of the work day, debt imprisonment laws, and public education. Their ideas were popular in big cities where industry was a major part of the economy. Over time, the Democratic Party persuaded the Workingmen’s Party into joining them. Today, the Democratic Party supports workers by having shorter work days and more public education available. While the Workingmen’s Party did not stand on its own for much time, it introduced new ideas on the conditions of workers.…

    • 422 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Economic Issues: The Democratic party believe that tax cuts for middle class families will boost economic growth by increasing demand. They increase taxes on investments and large businesses which offset the tax cuts of the middle class. The Democratic party also tend to extend more benefits to low-income families such as food stamps, government assistance on medication, and shelter. Education: The Democratic Party wishes to make college tuition tax deductible.…

    • 742 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Democratic Party Dbq

    • 677 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Democratic political party is the better ideology for the USA due to it wanting a better life for all it’s people. The Democrats want fairness among the people. They want the poor to be less poor and capable of obtaining the middle class level. According to the Democratic Preamble, it states “Democrats believe we are stronger when we have an economy that works for everyone—an economy that grows incomes for working…

    • 677 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The American Dream has many different views and meanings to it because it is something that people interpret it to be rather than it having a set meaning. The American Dream consists of hard work, which it always consisted of, but isn’t enough to satisfy people’s needs in life. People have to plan for the future, and improve the American Dream, which the government can do, but people have to take action. Brandon King describes how the American Dream is still alive and talks about his republican views in his famous text, “The American Dream: Dead, Alive, or on Hold?” On the other hand, Paul Krugman describes how the American Dream is dead from inequality in his famous work, “Confronting Inequality.”…

    • 1061 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Decent Essays

    The first policy that I would like to talk about is “Putting Americans back to work”. In this policy, Democratic Party is helping Americans to get back to work by creating new jobs. They have taken many actions for unemployed Americans, one of them was American Jobs Act to provide an immediate boost to the economy and strengthen the recovery. The purpose of the American Jobs Act is put more people back to work and put more money in the pockets of working Americans without adding a dime to the deficit. Also, Democratic Party is expanding access to refinancing for families who have stayed current on their mortgages, challenging community health centers to hire veterans.…

    • 206 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    What does American dream meant to you? In my opinion, the American dream doesn’t exist anymore; it’s dead. Look back in the history, Americans fought for their freedom through the war of independence. Americans wanted equality, fairness, wealth, and ,of course, freedom on this new land.…

    • 541 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    It doesn’t come on this silver platter ready to eat, people have to sacrifice their time and effort if they want results to show. It provides endless opportunities for its people, but it all depends on how they use them. Experts nowadays are saying that the American Dream could be dead or could be fading away. Some gurus believe that the…

    • 1332 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In conclusion, the American dream is a promise of freedom and equality in a new and better life. Every citizen either born and raised in America or immigrating to America has the opportunity to achieve the American Dream. Citizens have to be willing to go through hardships and suffering in life to earn money and work for success. All men and women that actually put in hard work and determination, and do not just take everything in life for granted, will achieve in the future and become successful in…

    • 1126 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    American Dream Dbq

    • 1082 Words
    • 5 Pages

    According to The New York Times Poll, Many Feel the American Dream Is Out of Reach only 64% of Americans believe in the American Dream. (Source B) Almost half of America does not even have faith in this so called dream we have been idolizing for decades, but with the economic realities of the country, how could people believe in the dream? According to source A, Walter G. Bumphus supports Obama’s proposal to provide tuition-free access to community college and this is a great idea in working to recreate the American Dream. In order to become wealthy and successful you must be born wealthy or get a college degree, but many people today cannot afford the expensive, over the top, price of college therefore they end up working a job that only pays minimum wage becoming part of the lower class. When Americans reach this point they become discouraged and are to afraid to work toward their goal of being successful.…

    • 1082 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Republican Party is one of the two major parties, the other being the Democratic Party. It is a party whose core values and interest have drastically changed over time. Although the party is younger than the Democratic Party it chooses to be called the Grand Old Party or GOP. Its main supporters are white voters, it’s against big government and is associated with conservative social policies. The party fights for the idea of laissez-faire, private business and it opposes the welfare state.…

    • 634 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Jack Benton Mrs. Maggeart English Honors III 16 March 2016 The Corrupted American Dream The American dream is defined as the goal of a hard, honest worker, as they successfully fulfil their wants. Cars, clothes, big houses, and family is ideal to the dream, but in The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald interprets the corruption of the American Dream; although many characters from the novel seem to be successful, those characters are immorally feeding their wealth and success towards parties, alcoholism, and materialism.…

    • 524 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Is the American Dream Feasible? The American Dream is the belief that prosperity and success are available to all Americans who work hard and are self-determined. Most Americans define the American Dream as earning a college degree, having an advanced job, taking vacations, owning their own home, and experiencing upward social mobility. Upward social mobility is referred to as the movement up the social class ladder.…

    • 1049 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Most people, if not all in the US always want to live the American dream at some point in their lives. But the question is, what is the meaning of the American dream, and how can people achieve this vague and elusive realisation? The American dream is a national philosophy or a belief that specifies the ideal factors such as democracy, freedom, rights and equality that accords every citizen equal opportunity to prosper and achieve their set goals (Glenn, 2002). The foundation of the American dream is deeply rooted in the declaration of independence that assert that “all men are created equal”. In simple terms, the American dream eliminates the artificial barriers to prosperity and promotes upward social mobility for every individual in the US depending on their hard work irrespective of their, social, religious, historical and racial background.…

    • 1562 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays