WHAT IS THE AMERICAN
DREAM?
WHAT DID THE ORIGINAL
SETTLERS OF AMERICA BELIEVE
WAS THE AMERICAN DREAM?
Why did they come to America? What were they looking for that they
were not getting in their home countries? List at least three pieces of
evidence.
This sermon was given while still on board the ship Arbella right
before it landed in what is now Massachusetts. Winthrop, alluding
to the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5, said:
…for we must Consider that we shall be as a City upon a Hill, the eyes of all people are
upon us; so that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken and
so cause him to withdraw his present help from us, we shall be made a story and a byword
through
the world,
we shall open the mouths
JOHN
WINTHROP
of enemies to speak evil of the ways of God and all professors for God’s sake; wee shall
shame the faces of many of God’s worthy servants, and cause their prayers to be turned
into Curses upon us till we be consumed out of the good land whither we are going…
HOW HAS "THE AMERICAN
DREAM" CHANGED OVER THE
YEARS?
Why has the American Dream changed? What caused that
change?
 James
Truslow Adams, in his book The Epic of America, which was
written in 1931, stated that the American dream is "that dream of a
land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone,
with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. It is a
difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret
adequately, and too many of us ourselves have grown weary and
mistrustful of it. 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" (214215).
JAMES TRUSLOW ADAMS

The authors of the United States’ Declaration of Independence held
certain truths to be self-evident: that all Men are created equal, that
they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that
among these are life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness." Might this
sentiment be considered the foundation of the American Dream?
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
WERE HOMESTEADERS WHO LEFT THE BIG CITIES OF THE EAST TO
FIND HAPPINESS AND THEIR PIECE OF LAND IN THE UNKNOWN
WILDERNESS PURSUING THESE INALIENABLE RIGHTS? WERE THE
IMMIGRANTS WHO CAME TO THE UNITED STATES LOOKING FOR THEIR
BIT OF LIFE, LIBERTY AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS, THEIR DREAM?
AND WHAT DID THE DESIRE OF THE VETERAN OF WORLD WAR II - TO
SETTLE DOWN, TO HAVE A HOME, A CAR AND A FAMILY - TELL US ABOUT
THIS EVOLVING DREAM? IS THE AMERICAN DREAM ATTAINABLE BY ALL
AMERICANS
What is The American Dream?

Some say, that the American Dream has become the pursuit of material
prosperity - that people work more hours to get bigger cars, fancier
homes, the fruits of prosperity for their families - but have less time to
enjoy their prosperity. Others say that the American Dream is beyond
the grasp of the working poor who must work two jobs to insure their
family’s survival. Yet others look toward a new American Dream with
less focus on financial gain and more emphasis on living a simple,
fulfilling life.
WHAT IS YOUR AMERICAN DREAM?
WRITE ABOUT YOUR
AMERICAN DREAM. WHAT
IS IT AND WHY ?

Far,
We've been traveling far
Without a home
But not without a star
Free,
Only want to be free
We huddle close
Hang on to a dream
On the boats and on the planes
They're coming to America
Never looking back again,
They're coming to America
Don't it
Oh, we're
In the
In the
Home
seem so far away
traveling light today
eye of the storm
eye of the storm
Home
To a new and a shiny place
Make our bed and we'll say our grace
Freedom's light burning warm
Freedom's light burning warm
Everywhere around the world
They're coming to America
Ev'ry time that flag's unfurled
They're coming to America
Got a dream to take them there
They're coming to America
Got a dream they've come to share
They're coming to America
They're coming to America
They're coming to America
They're coming to America
They're coming to America
Today, Today,
Today, Today, Today
My country 'tis of thee (today)
Sweet land of liberty (today)
Of thee I sing (today)
Of thee I sing
Today, Today, Today
Today, today, today......

"AMERICA"
Neil Diamond
It'll just take a little more time
He used to say, "Whoever dies with the most toys wins"
But if he loses his soul, what has he gained in the end
I'll take a shack on the rock
Over a castle in the sand
Now he works all day and cries alone at night
It's not getting any better
Looks like he's running out of time
'Cause he worked and he built with his own two hands
And he poured all he had in a castle made with sand
But the wind and the rain are coming crashing in
Time will tell just how long his kingdom stands
His kingdom stands
All they really wanted was You
All they really wanted was You
All they really wanted was You