Title: The 'American Dream' Was Coined in 1931
Headings: The 'American Dream' Was Coined in 1931
The 'American Dream' Was Coined in 1931
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Content: The 'American Dream' Was Coined in 1931
The 'American Dream' Was Coined in 1931
Matt Novak
3/06/15 2:50PM
48
8
Today the phrase "the American Dream" is a staple of political campaigns, book titles, and economic discussions. Everybody's heard it, but nobody knows quite how to define it. It's a phrase that feels as old as the country itself. But the American Dream wasn't invented in 1776. The term was coined in 1931. Advertisement
James Truslow Adams came up with "the American Dream" for his 1931 book, The American Epic. Adams had been born into a wealthy New York family and went into finance, where he did quite well for himself. He made enough money in the stock market by the age of 35 that he considered himself independently wealthy and decided to take on a new career in writing. Perhaps somewhat ironically, he would write The American Epic while he was in Great Britain. So how did Adams himself define the American Dream?