Title: The American Dream in the 1920s & 30s - Cultural History of the United States
Headings: Cultural History of the United States
The American Dream in the 1920s & 30s
Leave a Reply.

Content: a singular dream, a truly American one. The Business of The Dream
As the 19th century was coming to a close, a new awareness for the forgotten and oppressed members of society came to light in a variety of ways. The United States had been experiencing urbanization and technological advances at an extremely expedited rate. Waves of immigrants had been arriving from Southern and Eastern Europe seeking work, increasing the population of working poor. [ 2] The notion of the American Dream at this time existed to immigrants and meant merely to survive and be able to exist in a country that was free. Immigrants came to America to experience liberty, though liberty was little more than cramped quarters and penny wages. While this population of people had been previously overlooked, their struggles began to be exposed in the 1890s. Jacob Riis became a pioneer in this exposition, saying that “As we mold the children of the toiling masses in our cities, so we shape the destiny of the State which they will rule in their turn, taking the reins from our hands.” [ 3] His initiative in taking a stand for the urban poor inspired others to use their work to expose the condition of the urban poor. The Ashcan School centered itself on the harsh realities of urban living and depicted the dark struggle of daily life. [