1. The American Dream

2. Definition
The American Dream is a national ethos of the United States in which freedom includes a promise of the possibility of prosperity and success.
In the definition of the American Dream by James Truslow Adams in 1931, "life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement" regardless of social class or circumstances of birth.
The idea of the American Dream is rooted in the United States Declaration of Independence which proclaims that "all men are created equal" and that they are "endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights" including "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

3. The American Dream in History 1
Since its founding in 1776, the United States has regarded and promoted itself as an Empire of Liberty and prosperity. The meaning of the "American Dream" has changed over the course of history. Historically the Dream originated in the New World mystique regarding especially the availability of low-cost land for farm ownership

4. 2
The ethos today simply indicates the ability, through participation in the society and economy, for everyone to achieve prosperity.
According to the dream, this includes the opportunity for one's children to grow up and receive a good education and career without artificial barriers.
Immigrants to the United States sponsored ethnic newspapers in their own language; the editors typically promoted the American Dream.

5. 3
Historian James Truslow Adams popularized the phrase "American Dream" in his 1931 book Epic of America:
Martin Luther King Jr. in his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" (1963) rooted the civil rights movement in the black quest for the American dream:

6. The American Dream in Literature
The term is used in popular discourse, and scholars have traced its use in American literature:
Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin,
Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884)
Willa Cather's My Ántonia.
F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby (1925)
Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy (1925).
Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon (1977).

7. The American Dream in Politics
the American Dream theme in the careers of numerous political leaders;
Henry Kissinger
Hillary Clinton
Benjamin Franklin
Abraham Lincoln.
Barack Obama

8. Highlights: Home ownership
Home ownership is sometimes used as a proxy for achieving the promised prosperity; ownership has been a status symbol separating the middle classes from the poor.

9. The American Dream: Consumer Culture and Capitalism
Dream of Abundance
Dream of a Democracy of Goods
Dream of Freedom of Choice
Dream of Novelty

10. The American Dream and Sports
Sometimes the Dream is identified with success in sports or how working class immigrants seek to join the American way of life.

11. In Pictures: The American Dream

12. In Pictures