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The American Dream Illusion or Reality?

The American Dream Illusion or Reality?. Unit 5 Part 2. The Dream. The land of opportunity “Work and merit rather than social privilege” can bring success. PROOF Andrew Carnegie, J.P Morgan, John D Rockefeller, and Cornelius Vanderbilt

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The American Dream Illusion or Reality?

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  1. The American DreamIllusion or Reality? Unit 5 Part 2

  2. The Dream • The land of opportunity • “Work and merit rather than social privilege” can bring success. PROOF • Andrew Carnegie, J.P Morgan, John D Rockefeller, and Cornelius Vanderbilt • Fortunes came from exploiting cheap labour created by the influx of immigrants to the cities in search of work or “the Dream”

  3. Rise From Humble Beginnings • Abraham Lincoln • Began in a log cabin in rural Illinois • Joseph Pulitzer • Began as a poor German immigrant who was recruited for the Civil War. • Andrew Carnegie • Scottish immigrant who began working in a cotton mill for $1.20 a week.

  4. The Reality • aspirations of attaining the American dream a working in sweatshops • Poor pay • Unsafe working conditions • Poverty, crime, corruption

  5. Literary Focus • Flaws within the ideal of the American Dream • Corruption, poverty, crime • Discontent within, what seem like, stable towns • Racial Stereotyping • Tension between the wealthy and those who are attracted to them • America’s preoccupation with money • Courage and resilience of people

  6. Why Immigrate? • Opportunity for success without social standing • Last chance for survival • 1920s: Restrictive Quota Law • Restrict the number of immigrants entering America • Immigration drastically decreases until the 1960s when the law was lifted • 1960s-Present: Constant influx of immigrants = Asian and Indian. • Why? “The American Dream”

  7. “The republic is a dream. Nothing happens unless first a dream” Carl Sandburg

  8. “The love of wealth is therefore to be traced, as either a principal or accessory motive, at the bottom of all that the Americans do; this gives to all their passions a sort of family likeness…. It may be said that it is the vehemence of their desires that makes the Americans so methodical; it perturbs their minds, but it disciplines their lives.” Alexis de Tocqueville

  9. “God gave me my money. I believe the power to make money is a gift from God…to be developed and used to the best of our ability for the good of mankind.” John D Rockefeller

  10. “In your rocking chair by your window shall you dream such happiness as you may never feel.” Theodore Dreiser

  11. “America is God’s Crucible, the great Melting-Pot where all the races of Europe are melting and reforming!” Israel Zangwill

  12. According to Alexis de Tocqueville, what is the relationship between Americans and wealth? • Both Sandburg and Dreiser talk about dreaming. Compare and contrast these two quotations.

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