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September 3, 2024

What is the American Dream?

Rodrigo Rangel

Content Lead

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Some believe it means having a very large house in the United States**, a nice car, and plenty of money in the bank account. Others see the American Dream as the possibility of giving your children everything they need** (including the college education they require) while living in a first-world country.

That is why it is good to understand what the American Dream means** within the context of having a life plan in the United States.

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**What is the American Dream?**

Within the popular culture of American society, the American Dream (American Dream in English) is a core idea of great importance to U.S. citizens, who believe that there are many opportunities to prosper and evolve socio-economically in this country.

**The American Dream is often framed by ideals such as freedom, civil rights, and democracy,** which combine to ensure that anyone (regardless of their economic or social background) can be successful, prosperous, and happy by working hard and making sacrifices, while seriously and determinedly taking advantage of the opportunities available to them.

The American Dream is something that has been described in practice as acquiring a very comfortable home, enjoying a top-tier education system, being able to successfully practice any profession, and prospering steadily until the end of one's life.

Where was the American Dream born?

The concept of the American Dream was born in 1931, within the framework of ideas proposed by James Truslow, a historian who argued that life should be better and richer for everyone, with opportunity for each according to their ability or achievement, regardless of their social background or the circumstances in which they were born.

The most important thing to highlight is that** the conception of the American Dream emerged in the context of the second half of the 19th century** and the first decades of the 20th century, when various families such as the Rockefellers, Kennedys, Morgans, and Vanderbilts amassed enormous fortunes through their skill and perseverance.

From this comes the essence of the American Dream: Hard and consistent individual work, where everyone must look out for themselves to achieve the desired social and economic advancement.

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**What does it mean to live the American Dream?**

Living the American Dream means working hard to improve your quality of life, maintaining a solid work ethic as a fundamental premise and using personal inspiration as a springboard to achieve success.

Hard work must be done efficiently to be truly productive, as in the United States, it is highly valued to be extremely efficient at work, rather than performing tasks that could easily be done in other ways to achieve better results.

Another way to live the American Dream is through education, because it helps strengthen your life plan, provided it is of the highest possible level (whether you can afford it yourself or through a scholarship), especially at the university level, because graduating from a recognized university like Harvard, Stanford, MIT, or Yale can catapult you toward success.

Becoming an entrepreneur is a way to emerge and rise in the United States, focusing on developing a business model that stems from an existing market need to earn money and live comfortably—a quality that is part of the American Dream.

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**How true is the American Dream?**

It all depends on the decisions you make, as this encompasses what you want to do with your life, whether it is studying to practice a profession, starting a business, working in any trade, pursuing a professional sports career, or anything else that is economically profitable and allows you to live with dignity.

**The American Dream is a way of life** in a nation where daily life is often demanding, but in the long run, effort will pay off, as every goal requires a measure of hard work and sacrifice.

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