Title: American Dream in History - The American Dream
Headings: American Dream In History
American Dream In History
Content: Thus, after traveling in the United States in the early 1800s, Alexis De Tocqueville, a French writer, named this American spirit as "the charm of anticipated success" (Tocqueville). Those economic opportunities in this country significantly elevated the morale of the Americans and made them to believe that they can accomplish everything and be successful be working hard. Henry David Thoreau, a great American thinker and writer described the economic opportunities and the American belief in Walden: " ﻿
If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours" (Thoreau). From Thoreau's words, we can learn that the idea of American Dream became really well-supported and prevalent in this new nation, although the words "American Dream" was not invented yet. ﻿
The American families in 1920s experienced the happiness and pursued their American Dream
During the mid- to late-1800s, the American news and literature began to use "the American Dream" extensively (Kiger, the Origin). These two words were usually related to the ambitious Americans who moved to the West and the Europeans who came to the United States to look for better living conditions (Kiger, The Origin). Before early 1900s, the American Dream also widely used to describe the promotion of people's social classes and the idea of becoming wealthy (Kiger, The Origin). In 1931, Adams published his Epic of America, and the American Dream continued to thrive in the early 1900s
The poverty made the American Dream impossible for the Americans
However, the "Great Depression" crashed the American Dream during early 1930s by taking away Americans' wealth and making them homeless (Kiger, The Evolution). Many American people were thrown out off their homes and could only making living by begging (Kiger, The Evolution).