What is “THE AMERICAN DREAM”?

Is FREEDOM?

EQUALITY?

INDIVIDUALISM?

MOBILITY?

The Perfect Home

Family Praying at Dinner

Family Feast

Husband and Wife

Woman At Work

Arnold was born to a police officer and housewife in Austria, and later emigrated to the U.S. speaking no English He went to community college and started acting. Now he is a multi-millionaire, married into one of the most elite families in America—the Kennedys, and is governor of CA. He has said “In this country, it doesn't make any difference where you were born. It doesn't make any difference who your parents were. It doesn't make any difference if, like me, you couldn't even speak English until you were in your twenties.”

Ralph Lauren—maker of Polo; son of Russian immigrants who became a fashion mogul billionaire, started working in his teens to buy fashionable clothing.

Oprah, raised by her grandmother in rural poor Mississippi, is a billionaire with a book club, television show, several charities, and many other endeavors.

Benjamin Franklin, a founding father of the U.S., was famous for his Witicisms and for discovering electricity using a kite. He was born the son of a candle maker (one of 17 children) and came to stand before kings and Presidents. He is also on our $100 bill.

Finally, Tei Fu Chen is a Taiwanese immigrant who went from living in his car to building a billion-dollar herbal foods empire.

THE AMERICAN DREAMAn Introduction to the Idea and its Development

What is the American Dream?

Phrase first coined in 1931, by James Truslow Adams: citizens of every rank feel that they can achieve a "better, richer, and happier life.“

Democratic ideas mean that the American people can achieve prosperity through hard work.

An idea that has made the United States an attractive destination for many immigrants.

What Makes America (Theoretically) Different?

Many European “caste systems” do not allow much movement up through the social classes – if you’re born poor, chances are that you will remain poor.

Westward expansion started from Europe to the U.S., then from the East Coast to the Midwest to the West Coast. The frontier seemed endless.

The American Dream in the 1950s

…plays like Death of a Salesman (written in 1948) and Fences (written in 1983, but set in the 1950s) explored the topic of the American Dream in different ways…

The American Dream in the 1950s: Questions for Reflection

1) What do you think the American Dream meant to Willy Loman?

2) Based on your reading of Death of a Salesman, how do you think Arthur Miller felt about the American Dream?