The American Dream
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” This powerful quote comes from the document that the foundation of our country is based on, The Declaration of Independence, which was written by Thomas Jefferson. The document talks about being able to lead a happy and successful life in America. That is what the American Dream is based on, and while some people believe you can achieve the American Dream, others do not. To Be a Slave by Julius Lester, which is a novel we read in Core class, is an example of the American Dream being to hard to reach. In the …show more content…
In Chapter 8: The Northeast Building Industry, technology is improved. An example of this is when Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin. This clever machine removed the sticky seeds from cotton, making cotton a popular product again. Many factories were built, especially in New England since it had the waterpower needed to power the machines, and Americans were able to produce items quickly and more efficiently. This supports the Dream, because Americans and immigrants worked hard and were able to come up with new machines and other inventions to make their lives easier. Another big idea that was talked about in Chapter 8 was the education reform. This reform was started by Horace Mann, and through the reform, schools started moving towards free, public education for all students. This was a huge change, because most kids were home schooled, or- if they were rich enough- had private tutors. Along with free education, other people worked towards developing schools for those with special needs, African Americans, and women. As a whole, this chapter supports the idea of the American Dream being achievable, because after America separated from Britain and became a new country, it was still able to successfully find ways to get through obstacles they discovered, like getting sticky seeds out of cotton, or getting more kids an education, by working hard to make inventions that would make life in America
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” This powerful quote comes from the document that the foundation of our country is based on, The Declaration of Independence, which was written by Thomas Jefferson. The document talks about being able to lead a happy and successful life in America. That is what the American Dream is based on, and while some people believe you can achieve the American Dream, others do not. To Be a Slave by Julius Lester, which is a novel we read in Core class, is an example of the American Dream being to hard to reach. In the …show more content…
In Chapter 8: The Northeast Building Industry, technology is improved. An example of this is when Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin. This clever machine removed the sticky seeds from cotton, making cotton a popular product again. Many factories were built, especially in New England since it had the waterpower needed to power the machines, and Americans were able to produce items quickly and more efficiently. This supports the Dream, because Americans and immigrants worked hard and were able to come up with new machines and other inventions to make their lives easier. Another big idea that was talked about in Chapter 8 was the education reform. This reform was started by Horace Mann, and through the reform, schools started moving towards free, public education for all students. This was a huge change, because most kids were home schooled, or- if they were rich enough- had private tutors. Along with free education, other people worked towards developing schools for those with special needs, African Americans, and women. As a whole, this chapter supports the idea of the American Dream being achievable, because after America separated from Britain and became a new country, it was still able to successfully find ways to get through obstacles they discovered, like getting sticky seeds out of cotton, or getting more kids an education, by working hard to make inventions that would make life in America