The American Dream

The American dream has been changed overtime by economic, social, and political influences. The American dream has always provided us the courage and motivation to be what we want to be, as long as we work hard and have a moral code to live by. From the time of the puritans all the way to modern society the American dream has continued to change with each period of time. Within each period of time, the people in it strive for goals that society tells them are admirable to achieve. The problem of today’s society is that the idea that with hard work and morals achieves your dream is slowly fading away. The American dream may change but it will always be their guiding and giving us hope for a better tomorrow, and will continue to adapt and evolve as time continues on.
Each period of time the American dream has been in has been defined by a certain philosophy. The puritans were the first to receive the American dream, their goal was to not only achieve religious perfection but also maintain a perfect society for all to enjoy, the period took place from the 1650’s to the 1750’s. The American dream changed once again with the enlightenment period, this was a period of time in which the people of America injected reason into their orderly religious lives and began to revitalize the American social structure, working towards a better understanding of the real world, this period went from the 1750’s to the early years of the 1800’s. The next significant change for the American dream was the romantic period. It was a time of imagination, new ideals and social movements which began to rise in American society, this period took place between the years of the early 1800’s to the 1840’s. Another major period the American dream had great influence in was during the realism period, where men and women flocked to cities acquiring industry jobs which revitalized the economy, helping America become an economic superpower. This period started in the 1860’s and lasted until 1915. The Modernist period was the time the people of the United States needed the American dream the most. In this period America went through two world wars, and the great depression. Many people lost many things in their life during this time and they needed the help of the American dream to start again, even though many people had begun to lose faith in it. This period lasted from the early 1900’s to mid 1940’s. Each philosophy had a great effect on the American dream and the people who were trying to achieve it.
When the puritans first came to America they had high hopes for a new world that would foster a society based on religion, and they were given just that. The green forests, high mountains and numerous rivers reassured the puritans that this was heaven on earth. Little did they know as soon as they landed it would slowly become less pure every day. The puritans strove to be religiously perfect and their American dream was to create a society completely devoted to God. The literature, laws, social structure, and teachings had to revere God and his works. The religious leaders were also the government leaders, everybody paid taxes for the government that was completely based off religion, and the people believed the whole purpose of government was to enforce God’s laws. Of course the puritans did not succeed their American dream of creating a perfect society in the new world.
The puritans faced many problems when they first settled in America, the new land that seemed to be so pure and innocent slowly killed them. Disease, starvation, weather, and unfriendly Indian tribes preyed on the puritans who were trying to create a perfect world. In most cases instead of seeking help, or making an effort to fix the problem the extremely devoted puritans desperately prayed to God for protection and living essentials. Another example of their attempt to keep their new society as pure as possible was the Salem Witchcraft Trials. During the this time many people were labeled as a witch. This caused a panic within the Puritan society and many innocent people painfully died. Nearly all the information about accused witches came from three girls, who proclaimed who was a witch and who wasn’t. A great example of the prosecution people faced in Puritan times was the book “The Scarlet Letter” the story was set in the Puritan times were the people believed that the combination of religion and government was a good infrastructure for a society. The story “The Scarlet Letter” used sinful passion and a ample amount of symbolism to present the reader with a very strict religious society. The character in the book “Hester” was being punished for a sinful act by being forced to wear a scarlet “A” upon her chest, and was shunned by the rest of the town. Hester accepted her punishment and served it with pride amongst the town. “Here, she said to herself, had been the scene of her guilt, and here should be the scene of her earthly punishment.” (Hawthorne 73). Hester knew she was guilty for her sinful act and accepted her fate, this just shows how religiously driven the puritans were.
The puritans were extremely devoted to their religion, and their American dream was to create a perfect society in the new land that was filled with promise. But the new world they found ended up being their enemy. Through their suffering they continued to strive to create a perfect society, but as time went on it became harder and harder for them to obtain their American dream. It was impossible to create a perfect society through religion, the combination of church and the government led to corruption and suffering. The future generations of Americans learned from the puritans mistakes and strived to create a government that would be separate from the church.
The enlightenment period was a time of revolution for the young American society. Near the 1750’s, Americans began to inject reason into their life, and began to separate from the extremely religious ideals. The enlightenment philosophy was born in Europe, and soon proceeded to take hold in America. The ideas and concepts that were part of the enlightenment movement were all heard by the founding fathers, and they used these concepts to create a new form of government. The founding fathers realized they could create a government for the people based on reason and logic, not for God. Though Americans began to believe in reason and logic they still considered God to be apart of their lives. Americans believed that God created the universe and was a divine always watching figure but God did not control their lives. When Americans realized they could control their own fate the people began to question Britain’s control over their country, that was when the founding fathers and patriots began to rebel against King George. To spread their idea for a revolution the founding fathers and other patriots used pamphlets, speeches and protests all denouncing the British empire to convince Americans to join the revolution. The American dream soon became independence and many people would fight for that independence. The patriots would use the American dream as a guide to help them through the difficult war with Britain. The soldiers not only fought for a new country that was separate from British rule they fought for the idea of personal freedom, reason, and a fair government. The American army struggled through the war and with very little supplies, weapons, and clothing it was hard to fight a military power like Britain. With the American dream spurring them on though the American army was able to overcome their enemy and proclaim their independence. After the American revolution numerous countries followed America by rebelling against their own European power.
One of the founding fathers that had a great influence during this period of time was Ben Franklin. Franklin strove to be morally perfect, and would use his knowledge and experience to help inspire a nation. To inspire the American people Franklin wrote the “Poor Richards Almanac”, the book was written for the lower class, and used plenty of aphorisms to help people work towards a better sense of morals and reason. Ben Franklin wanted America to have a certain set of virtues instilled in its government and people. He would use his own virtues as examples for the country, temperance, moderation, justice, frugality, and industry are just some of the virtues that Ben Franklin wanted to instill into the new American government. The rest of the founding fathers agreed with Franklin and added his virtues in the constitution and other government infrastructure. Ben Franklin not only helped form a government but he also helped form a structure on which the American dream could prosper from during the enlightenment period.
The American dream during the enlightenment period was not formed by handful of people it was created by a whole country striving for freedom, justice, and reason. The American dream had to be strong during this point in American history, it was a time of revolution and new beginnings and the American dream needed to be their helping the people of the United States find a path towards a better tomorrow. The American dream would continue to be molded overtime but the ideals and spirit that was instilled into the countries foundations during the revolution will always be there providing support for the American dream to prosper and change. Though the enlightenment period may have been a rough time for America it was during this time that the proper morals and virtues were instilled in its core, helping define itself as a country based off of reason and understanding.
Romanticism was a time of imagination, that helped the newly formed United States discover its true identity after the revolutionary war. The romantic spirit was that of revolt a movement that strove to have emotions overcome logic. The new romanticism philosophy inspired artists and writers across the United States to create works that were heavily relied on symbolism, and had a darker more realistic themes. The American Dream was now being led by the artists of America. (http://www.online-literature.com/periods/romanticism.php)
The American dream was now in in the midst of the American renaissance. Near the middle of the 1800’s artistic expression was becoming more acceptable, and the authors of America were writing about mythological and fantastic settings that captured the imagination and wonder of the American people. Creativity boomed and people began to question the old ways of thinking. The romantic period was more about the individual than society and people began to discover themselves, and what they believed in. The writers during the romantic period were deeply symbolic, they made objects and events have deeper meaning in them and the stories portrayed a theme of not understanding the world around them. The American dream now was to be a person that was able to create influential pieces of art and literature that had a deeper meaning to them. The spirit of creation took hold of America, and the people experienced a period of new artistic expression. The people took to a new form of living and way of thinking that made the American people more opened minded. The American dream expanded the minds of the people and inspired many writers, and artists to create new pieces of art that made the foundation for future american artists to use and gain motivation from. The romantic movement brought forth new artistic ideas and forms that transformed American ideals. (http://www.online-literature.com/periods/romanticism.php)
One of the great authors of the Romantic movement was Edgar Allen Poe. His many works embodied the culture and style of the romantic movement. He used emotional themes mixed with hidden symbolism to capture the attention of his readers. Through literature he used his imaginative mind to create stories that did not favor intellectual thinking but instead his writings were full of emotions that helped create a core for his stories. He helped create a new American dream by writing stories that helped stir the emotions in the people that read them. Poe believed people felt and sensed things before they thought about reason, he took his belief and instilled it into his surreal stories. Poe created new worlds in his writings that helped the reader concentrate on the emotional influences and themes in the story. The common and ordinary was not acceptable for Poe he believed that true artistic value was in emotion, and it was the core for man and for art. Poe was an excellent example of a romantic writer his works truly captured the attention of the romantics in America who were searching for stories that bloomed with emotions. Poe not only was a writer during the romantic period he was a leader during this period that helped form the ideals of the romantic era. (http://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/p/poes-short-stories/critical-essays/edgar-allan-poe-and-romanticism)
The romantic period was a great time for artists in America to finally express themselves. It helped build the country and motivate its people. The American dream during the romantic era became for one to gain knowledge of emotions and imagination. It helped open the eyes of the American people, and helped foster a spirit of creation that would become instilled into the American spirit for the rest of its existence. The romantic period will always have an effect on modern day American dream.
The next major change for the American dream was during the realism movement where Americans would realize the true power of American economic power. The realism movement was a major turning point for the American population that started in the late 1800’s. People flocked from the countryside to cities in hopes of starting a new life in a bustling metropolis. No longer would people live off the land in a family farm setting somewhere in the countryside, but instead the American people lusted for a more fast paced more industrious lifestyle that existed in the city.
Realism was a reaction to the romantic era, instead of emotions and themes the realist pieces of literature focused on the true nature of society and the people in it. The novels written in this period were very different than previous works. The plot structure in realism literature, did not follow the basic order of events like other novels, but instead wrote it as if it was real life, stories without a pattern of events. The realist authors focused more on character development then the story and believed the characters was more important than the plot. The authors strove to create characters that were almost real to the reader. During this time when authors were creating more realistic novels, the people of America were settling in the cities getting jobs in industries that helped fuel American economics. With the development of new machinery, the American economy became more reliant on industries based in cities than agriculture. The American dream changed from having a simple life in the countryside to having a more industrious exciting life in the city. People during the realism period realized they had control over their own destiny and this idea would stay with Americans for many years. (http://www.westga.edu/~mmcfar/worksheet%20on%20American%20Realism.htm)
(http://www.online-literature.com/periods/realism.php)
One of the great authors of the realism period was Mark Twain. His ability to write stories that portrayed the true structure of life was revolutionary for its time. The story “The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn” was truly an excellent example of realism literature. The characters in this story are very relatable to the reader making the characters more important than the plot. Mark Twain was introducing a radical new form of literature with this book. His works focused on the real world and created characters that acted and spoke like those in real life. The book was also very controversial due to the fact that it discussed the idea of slavery and the reasons why it was wrong. To some this book was a shining example of why there shouldn’t be slavery, to others this book was blasphemy due to its favor for equality. The simple act of a white man saying sorry to a black man was unacceptable to some “It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a n….. but I done it, and I warn’t ever sorry for it afterwards, neither.” (Twain,98). This book did not only bring forth a new format of writing, it also helped open the minds of the American people and raise important issues during the industrial and realist time period.
The realist movement brought forth new political and social changes. The books written in this period focused on true human nature and the real world. While writers were creating new pieces of literature, Americans flocked to cities in hopes of starting a new exciting life. No longer would the American Dream be a simple life in the countryside instead the American Dream was to have a successful independent life in a large metropolis. This dream fueled the American economy into the roaring 20’s. During the industrial revolution American lost its innocence. No longer did people want simple lives in the country, the American people changed the ideals and morals and migrated to cities to make something out of themselves.
Many events took place during the modernist period. During the time period of the modernist era two world wars took place, the economic boom of the twenties occurred and soon after the greatest depression in American history sank the American economy, devastating millions of people. The events that took place in this era, not only tested the strength and willpower of the American people but is also displayed how the American dream could affect the people of the United States.
The modernist era began in the early 1900’s. During this time America entered WW1 and men young and many fought for their country. When the soldiers finally returned from war torn Europe many felt lied to and began to question the American dream. The writers who served in the war began to write their feelings and views into their works. While many others were enjoying the roaring 20’s the men who served in WW1 felt like they needed to escape what they believed was the disillusioned American dream. The writers found refuge in Europe and began to write in a new format. The way they wrote captured the true essence of the American spirit, and portrayed a fragmented world. While the writers of the modernist era were busy creating novels the rest of America was happily enjoying the boom of the 20’s. The cities of America became larger, the stock market was fantastic, welfare capitalism was being implemented, and consumerism was entering American households. Everyone was enjoying the advantages of the 20’s and the American dream of being extremely successful was inspiring people to do great things, but soon all of the benefits of the 20’s would be gone. The drop in the stock market caused the roaring 20’s to come to a grinding halt. Many not only lost their jobs but their lives also crumbled around them. To counter the effects of the great depression President Roosevelt created many relief programs to help get the country back on its feet. Roosevelt had three goals, relief, recovery, and reform. Roosevelt strove to achieve stability once again in the United States and made many changes to the economic structure of America and also the structure of American government. Just as America was finally rising from the great depression tragedy struck. December 7th, 1941, “A date that will live in infamy” (Roosevelt) changed the mindset of the American people from being in isolation and striving to maintain peace to an aggressive all out war attitude. This was the time America needed the American dream the most to inspire the people of America to take action against the Axis forces. American industries unleashed its true potential, stockpiles of weapons and vehicles were produced and every citizen strove to contribute to the war effort in some way. During this time the American economy was able to get that final push to finally emerge from the great depression. America also changed the future of war during this period, after the atom bomb was detonated military conflicts would never be the same. The American dream during the modernist period was very obscure, the events and wars that took place transformed the people of the United States. During the early parts of the modernist period the American dream of being successful, and rich was very vivid in the minds of many Americans but as time went on many abandoned the American dream and lost sight of it even though it would be a time when Americans would need it the most.
One man who lost sight of the American dream was Ernest Hemingway. Hemingway was deeply scarred from WW1 physically and mentally. When he returned from the war, he did not aspire to American dream like those around him but instead, wrote about his experiences, and feelings as way of releasing his inner anger. Hemingway helped create imagism, this format of writing gives you a snapshot of the world, Hemingway wrote in a way that not only gave you a snapshot of the world in the story but also a peek into his inner thoughts and feelings.
The modernist period changed America forever. The values, morals, and beliefs Americans had would forever be different. People suffered and also rejoiced during this segment of history and it was a time when many gained and lost the American dream of being successful.
The ideals and values people believed in truly has had a great effect on American history. The American dream has always given us the hope and inspiration to be what we want to be. The American dream people believed in has changed overtime and was changed by the ideals and beliefs that people had during each period of time. Throughout history America has experienced eras of peace and happiness but America has also been through hard times when the American dream was needed the most but was hard to believe in. The artists also had a great amount of influence on the American dream, the novels and art that were created in each period encourage people to go and make something out of themselves. As art and literature continues to change the American dream will also change. The American dream has gone from the amazement of a new land and hopes of religious perfection to the idea of becoming a successful independent individual in America. The American dream will continue to be transformed by political, economic and social change, but what defines the American dream during a time period are the people who lived during that time and strived to achieve it. The American dream will continue to transform and change as time continues on but it will always be there as a beacon of hope and the American people will continue to reach out towards it as an object that is just beyond our reach a goal that leads to what we want in life.