James Truslow Adams

From the time our Founding Fathers introduced the idea of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, many individuals are now craving to achieve their idea of the American Dream. The American Dream has changed dramatically over the few centuries. During the Founding Fathers’ time, many believed the American Dream meant freedom, equality, and mutual respect. Time has changed this ideology of the American Dream, which is now seen as owning a million dollar mansion with multiple luxury cars. This

original idea of the “American Dream” supported the idea that all American citizens are able to obtain a better life than they are currently living; however, that idea is continuously changing and many interpret their own dream in different ways. James Truslow

CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION TO ‘AMERICAN DREAM’ The word American Dream was first coined by an American writer and historian James Truslow Adams (1878 – 1949), in his book The Epic of America, written in 1931. His definition of American Dream is “that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability and achievement. It is a difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret adequately, and too many of us ourselves

In the 1931 award-winning book, The Epic of America, James Truslow Adams first publicly defined the American Dream as, "A dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.” In retrospect, 1931 was a year of great nationalism, expansion and the closing note of the Roaring Twenties. However, with deeper analysis and understanding, Adams’ definition does not hold true in 2016. The American Dream of a “richer”

make a name for themselves in this highly aristocratic America. This spike in questionable practices further withheld the American Dream from those wishing to achieve it the way it was intended, through hard work and perseverance. In 1931, James Truslow Adams defined the American Dream, “life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement”, regardless of one 's class or circumstances of birth. More and more people were being denied

The term “ The American Dream” can be coined to historian James Truslow Adams in the early 1930’s. Adams believed that the true commitment for the American society was based of material success that was obtained by individual competition of the citizens. Furthermore, stating that the American citizens had been conditioned to desire success, with an honest belief that it was possible for one to achieve it. This was possible because the very principles that American society represented, helped each

James Truslow Adams in 1931 coined the term “The American Dream” in his book The Epic of America (Michels, n.d., para. 1). He wrote of an America that offered freedom of religion, and speech, as well as political and social opportunities that few other countries offered. However, according to Eva Michels, “The American Dream” means something different for each individual, it refers to the way of life that Americans strive for and have equal rights to achieve regardless of social class or nationality

scientists and historians . American dream is a widely used term that became a powerful metaphor, of the American values. Americans believe, that these values can be reached through hard work and individual effort. Amongst these values is one, which James Truslow Adams in the “Epic of America”, which signifies one of the values “being able to grow to grow to fullest development as men and women unhampered by the barriers which had slowly been erected for the benefit of classes, rather than for the simple human

In James Truslow Adams’ The Epic of America, the American dream is defined as an egalitarian ideology in which “life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.” Established by an inherently advantaged Anglo American in an era of burgeoning racism, the American dream was and is still believed to provide equal opportunity for all, including minorities who, despite their onerous struggle against discrimination at the hands of

American Dream is the sole reason that millions of people decided to come to this country, whether it be generations ago, or last week. But even so, this shared dream faces problems. To solve the problem, the American Dream has to be defined. James Truslow Adams, author of the 1931 book The Epic of America, was the first person to mention and therefore define the American Dream. He established it as: “[T]hat dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity