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48 views6 pages

How The American Dream Has Changed Over Time (1) - 4

Uploaded by

Riya Shivaram
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© © All Rights Reserved
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You are on page 1/ 6

English 11

Instructor Matthew Minncino

Riya Shivaram

How the American Dream Has


Changed Over Time- in my opinion

Nowadays, everyone throughout the world desires the life that

America has to offer. The American Dream that people envision is mainly

about America being the “ land in which life should be better and richer and

fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or

achievement ... regardless of fortuitous circumstances of birth or position.”

Therefore, people imagine that America brings plenty to one’s life. This

may also explain why there are many immigrants and American citizens

themselves who enjoy living in America. However, people do not know that

the American Dream has had a long history to it.

Most importantly, the American Dream has changed in a way for it to

include freedom and peace. From the year 1607 to 1776 America was

under English rule and therefore citizens did not have the right to freedom

and the country lacked peace. However, when America became


independent of British rule in 1776, the founding fathers made rights to

freedom a vital component of the American constitution.

When the Americans participated in World War II, many of them

believed that everybody in the world, including themselves, deserved

freedom. They fought in World War II mainly to preserve four types of

freedom- freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from want, and

freedom from fear. In addition, certain Amendments such as Amendment I

grants American citizens the right to religious freedom, by directly stating “

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or

prohibiting the free exercise thereof………….” Therefore, a critical part of

the modern American dream includes freedom and peace.

In addition to that, the American Dream has changed from including

racial harassment to enabling immigrants from underserved parts of the

world with opportunities to live comfortable lives. For a long time,

Americans treated people of color as second class citizens. In the 17th to

18th century, wealthy American families in the Southern part of America

used African- Americans as their slaves primarily for the purpose of

planting their crops, the most popular one being sugarcane. At the same
time, the Northern part of the United States was against slavery and

attempted to abolish slavery. From the year 1830 to 1870 the abolitionist

movement was held. Finally, on December 6, 1865, the United States put

an end to slavery.

However, racial harassment was still ongoing for colored people.

From 1955-1968, Martin Luther King as well as other colored activists

fought aggressively for colored people to be treated equally and the United

States has become more welcoming of colored people and immigrants

since. Over the years, there has been a surge in America’s population and

the rate of immigration. According to research, 13.7% of America's

population were immigrants in 2017 and approximately 27% of America’s

population were immigrants in the year 2022. Without such advocacy for

colored people’s rights the American Dream would not involve giving

opportunities to settle in the United States.

Another major part of the modern American Dream has been

becoming welcoming to women. Prior to the year 1920, American women

were not treated equally and did not even have the right to vote. In the

year 1848, many female activists organized a movement advocating for


feminist rights, known as the women’s suffrage. Some of the most

important ones were Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Sojourner Truth, Luceia Mott,

and Susan B Anthony. In Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s Declaration of

Sentiments document, she clearly states that she wanted America to be a

society, “............where all men and women are created equal.” Thanks to

the efforts that these activists, women were finally granted the right to vote

in the year 1920, following up with the Equal Rights Amendment

(established in 1972) being designed to protect American women from

sexual harassment or sexual discrimination. This has made it possible for

women to live comfortably in the United States. In fact, current research

shows many immigrants to the United States are women that come from

nations that have the highest sexual harassment rates.

Finally, the modern American Dream involves America being a

wealthy country and being known for a high quality capital of labor. In the

1800s and 1900s, America was a developing country. However, by the

early 1900s, America eventually became a wealthy country with the

lifestyle that everyone dreams of. In particular, the quality of labor has

improved over time and thus making human capital valuable. The United
States is currently known for having the best education in the world. This

has led to a sharp increase in immigration in the United States.

The American Dream has radically changed. Previously the American

Dream had some flaws and was not attractive to anybody- including

immigrants and American citizens themselves. However, it has changed

from that to becoming the “ land in which life should be better and richer

and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or

achievement ... regardless of fortuitous circumstances of birth or position.”

This explains why immigration rates in the United States increase overtime.
Sources:

1. “How the American Dream Has Changed Over Time”


2. “The Declaration of Sentiments”
a. Author: Elizabeth Cady Stanton
3. “When America Was a Developing Country”
a. Link:
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/when-america-was-a-developin
g-country/
b. Website Name: The American Conservative.
c. Author: Unknown
4.

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