Originating in 1931, the first definition of The American Dream was written by historian James Truslow Adams. Described in a journal produced for Cornell Law School, Adams refers to the suburban status quo as, “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” (Adams). Although Adams is credited for defining The American Dream, The Dream had been alive for centuries prior to it’s formal naming. In 1776, Thomas Jefferson laid the foundation for The Dream, “That all men are created equal & independent, that from that equal creation they derive rights inherent & inalienable, among which are the preservation of life, and liberty, and the pursuit
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A new template of The Dream has an aptness to arise after a drastic societal change in different eras. It began in 1776 with The American Dream forming from our Founding Fathers’ bold, and revolutionary, idea that each person’s drive to pursue their own type of happiness was not self-indulgence, but the key to a prosperous society. From this concept, they created a government to defend that right for everyone. Of course, at the time, “everyone” only meant white land-owners; eventually, however, this right was extended. President Lincoln granted the right of chasing The Dream to slaves with the Emancipation Proclamation, and the same type of restraints were lifted for women during the ratification of the 19th Amendment. President Johnson promoted Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which extended The Dream by protecting workers from discrimination by race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, and President Obama established the right of the pursuit of happiness through love and marriage, regardless of sexuality, in …show more content…
On January 27th, 2017, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order that suspends admissions for Syrian refugees; this order was ignorantly titled, “Protection Of the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States”. The United States of American is a country of immigrants, a fact that has amply reflected the phenomenon known as The American Dream, but this historically founded Dream has been halted by the new President. Columnist for The Nation, Malik Muhammad Ashraf, wrote that, “The ethos of the American dream today implies the opportunity to make individual choices without any restrictions that limit people to their class, caste, religions, race, or ethnicity. Trump’s rise to power actually signifies the beginning of the process to shatter these dreams” (Ashraf). While the country built from immigrants restricts access to new incomers based on their religion, the Dream starts to become less and less of a reality for those hoping for a new
A new template of The Dream has an aptness to arise after a drastic societal change in different eras. It began in 1776 with The American Dream forming from our Founding Fathers’ bold, and revolutionary, idea that each person’s drive to pursue their own type of happiness was not self-indulgence, but the key to a prosperous society. From this concept, they created a government to defend that right for everyone. Of course, at the time, “everyone” only meant white land-owners; eventually, however, this right was extended. President Lincoln granted the right of chasing The Dream to slaves with the Emancipation Proclamation, and the same type of restraints were lifted for women during the ratification of the 19th Amendment. President Johnson promoted Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which extended The Dream by protecting workers from discrimination by race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, and President Obama established the right of the pursuit of happiness through love and marriage, regardless of sexuality, in …show more content…
On January 27th, 2017, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order that suspends admissions for Syrian refugees; this order was ignorantly titled, “Protection Of the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States”. The United States of American is a country of immigrants, a fact that has amply reflected the phenomenon known as The American Dream, but this historically founded Dream has been halted by the new President. Columnist for The Nation, Malik Muhammad Ashraf, wrote that, “The ethos of the American dream today implies the opportunity to make individual choices without any restrictions that limit people to their class, caste, religions, race, or ethnicity. Trump’s rise to power actually signifies the beginning of the process to shatter these dreams” (Ashraf). While the country built from immigrants restricts access to new incomers based on their religion, the Dream starts to become less and less of a reality for those hoping for a new