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The Acquisition and Loss of the American Dream

The Acquisition and Loss of the American Dream. What do we think of when we hear the phrase “the American Dream?” What are some key components of the American Dream?. In the Beginning. Early focus was on hard work and thrift Benjamin Franklin’s Poor Richard’s Almanac

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The Acquisition and Loss of the American Dream

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  1. The Acquisition and Loss of the American Dream

  2. What do we think of when we hear the phrase “the American Dream?” • What are some key components of the American Dream?

  3. In the Beginning • Early focus was on hard work and thrift • Benjamin Franklin’s Poor Richard’s Almanac • “Early to Bed, and early to rise, makes a Man healthy, wealthy, and wise.” • “Industry pays debts.”

  4. Next Step • From industry to “labor ideology” • Abraham Lincoln focused on the values of working hard • Focus was on “economic independence and opportunity for social advancement through financial gain” • Anyone can become rich if they work hard enough

  5. Rise of Industry • When America went through its Industrial Revolution after the Civil War, Americans became obsessed with the “rags to riches” stories. • Horatio Alger • Wrote stories about people rising from the lower class in the late 1800s • Achieve success through hard work, determination, and courage

  6. Coining the Phrase • James Truslow Adams • 1931 book Epic of America • “The American Dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for every man, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement… It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position.” • What does this quote say about what Americans desired?

  7. Change of values • Consumer-driven societypost WW-II • Americans lost their work ethic in the 1950s and 1960s • Despite the change in work ethic, it has increased the desire for the American Dream • What has the Dream become now? • Not something earned • Something we are all entitled to • We look for the shortcuts to the Dream

  8. What are some examples in the past decade of the shortcut to the Dream? American Idol Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire? Powerball and the Lottery

  9. The Loss of the Dream • Great Depression • 1929-1933 • Lots of debt, lack of high-growth industries, and growing disparities between the classes • FDR and the New Deal • Economy came back in 1934 • Until the Recession of 1937

  10. MLK’s Dream of Racial Equality • "We will win our freedom because the sacred heritage of our nation and the eternal will of God are embodied in our echoing demands. . . when these disinherited children of God sat down at lunch counters they were in reality standing up for what is best in the American dream and for the most sacred values in our Judeo-Christian heritage, thereby bringing our nation back to those great wells of democracy which were dug deep by the founding fathers in their formulation of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence."

  11. When the opportunities for achieving the American Dream start disappearing, what have Americans typically done in the past? • Changed their occupation • Gone back to school

  12. The American Dream used to be about hard work and being independent. • What is our American Dream today? • What is your American Dream?

  13. History of the Dream: Group Work • Groups 1 and 4: Thomas Paine’s “[From] Crisis No. 1” - Textbook p. 101 • Groups 2 and 5: Patrick Henry’s “Speech to the Virginia Convention” – p. 37 of The Holt Reader • Groups 3 and 6: Thomas Jefferson’s “[From] The Autobiography: The Declaration of Independence” – p. 45 of The Holt Reader

  14. History of the Dream: Group Work • Group Member Assignments • Leader – keep group on task • Time Keeper – make sure work gets done in time allotted and keep SPACE going • Secretary – write down notes • Presenter – present information to class • We’ll count off. • Then, get in your groups and take a moment to assign roles.

  15. Questions for Group Work • As you read the selection, complete the SPACE process. • After every paragraph, have a member respond to the readings with S, P, A, C, or E. • Complete SPACE in an organized fashion (how you divide the reading is your call). • What is your author’s perception of the American Dream? • What is your author’s understanding of freedom? • How does this passage relate to the modern Dream? • Find three sentences that stand out to your group, and write down why these are extremely important.

  16. Information provided by: • American Studies Today Online http://www.americansc.org.uk/Online/American_Dream.htm • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Dream

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