Historically, The American Dream was rooted in The Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson in 1776; however, The American Dream was popularized by James Truslow Adams in 1931. Thomas Jefferson, an American Founding Father, stated “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” (Jefferson), but James Adams, an American writer and historian, had an idea that “Life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement regardless of social class or circumstances of birth” (Amadeo). The concept of The American Dream has changed over time; for example, focusing more
…show more content…
These same ideas followed up until the early 1990’s when materialism started to fade away because someone, such as a neighbor or family member would always have more fancy items and money; therefore, it was not necessarily achievable in the first place. New ideas started to come along in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s; for example, receiving a quality education, having a comfortable retirement, and owning health insurance. Today the ideas are split because some people are going back to the idea of materialism and trying to own the most luxurious house and fanciest cars, but others do not have the money for these items; therefore, they are turning to the idea of creating a meaningful life to actually be happy. A survey done by The Center for a New American Dream found that 78 percent of people considered personal freedom extremely important in their vision of The American Dream (How the American Dream Has Changed Over Time). Over time, the concept of The American Dream has changed from trying to succeed in life through hard work, to the idea that no one has to work hard to be wealthy and own expensive items; on the contrary, money is a barrier for some …show more content…
In order to make money, people need a decent job, but to get a decent job people have to go to college. College has become extremely expensive; in fact, “The tuition for North Carolina State University has increased by over 850% between the years 1977 and 2013 while minimum wage has only increased by approximately 215% during that same period of time” (Finkeldey). The rise in tuition and interest rates on student loans is causing it to be more difficult for college graduates to pay back the money leading them to be in debt for several years, which makes it difficult to focus on achieving The American Dream. Not only is it already hard enough to pay for an education, but for women, the wage gap between them and men makes it even harder to pay back the money owed; in fact, “white women make $0.78 to every dollar a white man makes. This gap is even larger when you consider people of color. Black women only make $0.64 to every dollar a white man makes and Latina and Hispanic women only make $0.54” (Finkeldey). This wage gap makes it even more challenging for women to reach The American Dream no matter how hard they work. Whether someone is a college graduate, a woman, or woman minority, money may always be a barrier that stops them from fully reaching The American
These same ideas followed up until the early 1990’s when materialism started to fade away because someone, such as a neighbor or family member would always have more fancy items and money; therefore, it was not necessarily achievable in the first place. New ideas started to come along in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s; for example, receiving a quality education, having a comfortable retirement, and owning health insurance. Today the ideas are split because some people are going back to the idea of materialism and trying to own the most luxurious house and fanciest cars, but others do not have the money for these items; therefore, they are turning to the idea of creating a meaningful life to actually be happy. A survey done by The Center for a New American Dream found that 78 percent of people considered personal freedom extremely important in their vision of The American Dream (How the American Dream Has Changed Over Time). Over time, the concept of The American Dream has changed from trying to succeed in life through hard work, to the idea that no one has to work hard to be wealthy and own expensive items; on the contrary, money is a barrier for some …show more content…
In order to make money, people need a decent job, but to get a decent job people have to go to college. College has become extremely expensive; in fact, “The tuition for North Carolina State University has increased by over 850% between the years 1977 and 2013 while minimum wage has only increased by approximately 215% during that same period of time” (Finkeldey). The rise in tuition and interest rates on student loans is causing it to be more difficult for college graduates to pay back the money leading them to be in debt for several years, which makes it difficult to focus on achieving The American Dream. Not only is it already hard enough to pay for an education, but for women, the wage gap between them and men makes it even harder to pay back the money owed; in fact, “white women make $0.78 to every dollar a white man makes. This gap is even larger when you consider people of color. Black women only make $0.64 to every dollar a white man makes and Latina and Hispanic women only make $0.54” (Finkeldey). This wage gap makes it even more challenging for women to reach The American Dream no matter how hard they work. Whether someone is a college graduate, a woman, or woman minority, money may always be a barrier that stops them from fully reaching The American