The American Dream

The "American Dream" is the faith held by many in the United States of America that through hard work, courage, and determination one can achieve a better life for oneself, usually through financial prosperity. These were values held by many early European settlers, and have been passed on to subsequent generations. What the American Dream has become is a question under constant discussion, and some believe that it has led to an emphasis on material wealth as a measure of success and/or happiness.

The origin of the American Dream stems from the departure in government and economics from the models of the Old World. This allowed unprecedented freedom, especially the possibility of dramatic upward social mobility. Additionally, from the American Revolutionary War well into the later half of the nineteenth century, many of America's physical resources were unclaimed and held out the promise of land ownership and lucky investment in land or industry. The development of the Industrial Revolution combined with the great natural resources of the enormous and as yet unsettled continent created the possibility of achieving wealth.

Many early American prospectors headed west of the Rocky Mountains to buy acres of cheap land in hopes of finding deposits of gold. The American Dream was a driving factor not only in the gold rushes of the mid to late 1800s, but also in the waves of immigration throughout that century and the following.

Impoverished western Europeans escaping the Irish potato famines in Ireland, the Highland clearances in Scotland and the aftermath of Napoleon in the rest of Europe came to America to escape a poor quality of life at home. They wanted to embrace the financial mobility and constitutional freedoms that existed in the United States.

A sizable number of Chinese and Japanese immigrants also arrived in the U.S. in the mid 19th century seeking the American Dream. This led to the founding of several Chinatowns in locations such as San Francisco and New York City. Many immigrants from these countries also worked as labourers on the First Transcontinental Railroad.

During the mid-to-late 19th century prolific dime novel writer Horatio Alger, Jr. became famous for his novels that idealized the American Dream. His novels about down-and-out bootblacks who were able to achieve wealth and success helped entrench the dream within popular culture. Nearing the twentieth century, major industrialist personalities became the new model of the American Dream, many beginning life in the humblest of conditions but later controlling enormous corporations and fortunes. Perhaps most notable here were the American capitalists Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller. This acquisition of great wealth led to the myth, that if you had talent, intelligence, and a willingness to work extremely hard, you were likely to be a success in life as a result. However an 1870's study of 303 textile, railroad and steel executives, found that c.90% came from the upper or middle class[1].

Throughout the 19th century, immigrants fled the monarchies of Western Europe and their post-feudal economies, which actively oppressed the peasant class. These economic systems required high levels of taxation, which stymied development. The American economy, however, was built up by people who were consciously free of these constraints.

Settlement in the new world provided hope for egalitarianism. Martin Luther King invoked the American Dream in what is perhaps his most famous speech: "Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends. And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American Dream."

In the 20th century, the American Dream had its challenges. The Great Depression caused widespread hardship during the Thirties, and was almost a reverse of the dream for those directly affected. Racial instability did not disappear, and in some parts of the country racial violence was almost commonplace. There was concern about the undemocratic campaign known as McCarthyism carried on against suspected Communists.

Silicon Valley initiated the Computer Age and the dot-com boom. Companies such as Hewlett-Packard, eBay, Intel, Google, Apple, and Oracle remain headquartered there.Since the end of World War II, young American families have sought to live in relative comfort and stability in the suburbs that were built up around major cities. This led to the rise of the relatively conservative 1950s, when many pursued the "perfect family" as a part or consequence of the American Dream. This period was shattered by a new generation of young people who embraced the hippie values of the 1960s, denying traditional values such as the American Dream. In modern times, the American Dream is seen as a possible accomplishment, as all children can go to school and get an education. Though the drive to it waned during those years, the dream itself has never died out.

In the 1990s, the pursuit of the American Dream could be seen in the Dot-com boom. People in U.S., as well as the world poured their energy into the new Gold Rush - the Internet. It was again driven by the same faith that by one's ingenuity and hard work, anyone can become successful in America. Ordinary people started new companies from their garages and became millionaires. This new chapter of the American Dream again became the beacon to the world and attracted many entrepreneurial people from China and India to Silicon Valley to form start ups, and seek fortune in America.

Another recent example of the American Dream being realized is the case of Tamir Sapir. An immigrant from the former Soviet republic of Georgia, Sapir arrived in America in 1973 and started as a taxicab driver in New York City. Saving up to buy an electronics store, he catered primarily to Russian clientele. Eventually he made contacts with the Soviet contingent to the United Nations in New York, and traded electronics for oil contracts, which he then sold to American companies. Investing the profits in Manhattan real estate, he became a billionaire by 2002, less than thirty years after arriving penniless in America. Like many rags to riches stories, his is a unique one that would be hard to replicate. Yet today Sapir is becoming known as America's "billionaire cabbie".