Title: The Origins of the American Dream - How the American Dream Works | HowStuffWorks
Headings: How the American Dream Works
How the American Dream Works
The Origins of the American Dream

Content: The Origins of the American Dream - How the American Dream Works | HowStuffWorks
How the American Dream Works
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By: Patrick J. Kiger
The Origins of the American Dream
Historian James Truslow Adams often receives credit for first popularizing the idea of the American dream. In his 1931 book "The Epic of America," Adams described "that 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" [source: Adams ]. But the concept of the American dream, as Adams defined it, actually existed long before him. In 1630, John Winthrop gave his "city upon a hill" sermon to his fellow Puritan colonists as they sailed to Massachusetts in 1630. Although Winthrop never used the word "dream," he eloquently detailed his vision of a society in which everyone would have a chance to prosper, as long as they all worked together and followed Biblical teachings [source: Winthrop ]. Gradually, that dream of opportunity evolved in colonists' minds into a God-given right. In the Declaration of Independence in 1776, Thomas Jefferson asserted that everyone in America -- at least, those who weren't enslaved by the colonists -- was entitled to "life, liberty and pursuit of happiness" [source: