The American Dream

Can you name any value(s) the Americans hold dear?

Read the list of values in the exercise below and match them with their definitions. Click on the icon quiz below to open the exercise.

Watch the video below and make a note of the traditional vs the modern view of the American Dream, as well as of some statistics you might find surprising.

Then answer the following questions:

1. What does the American Dream mean to you?

2. How might the definition of success differ between generations?

3. Are personal freedoms more important than material wealth?

What do you understand from the text in the picture? Which values are mentioned?

The Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on July 4, 1776. It is a document which explains why the Thirteen Colonies at war with the Kingdom of Great Britain regarded themselves as thirteen independent sovereign states, no longer under British rule.

Let's go back to how it all began.

Look at the pictures below, showing people arriving in America at the turn of the 20th century.

What sort of feelings do these pictures arouse in you?

As far as you know, why did people leave Europe to travel to America?

"Welcome to the Land of Freedom," immigrants on board the steamer Germanic. Illustration from Frank Leslie's illustrated newspaper, July 2, 1887

Immigrants on their way to Ellis Island, on the deck of the S.S. Patricia, 1906. (Credit: Library of Congress/Popperfoto/Getty Images)

Immigrants arriving at Ellis Island, 1915 https://www.newspapers.com/topics/industrial-gilded-ages/ellis-island/

Ellis Island

Ellis Island is part of New York City. It is the place where 12 to 20 million immigrants to the United States were processed from 1892 to 1954. The selection process followed a certain number of strict rules. Only the wealthy immigrants who had travelled first class were automatically accepted. Now Ellis Island is a museum devoted to the history of immigration.

Use the information given below as a starting point, highlighting facts about immigration in the 19th / 20th century.

Then do some research into the current immigration situation in the United States. Focus on at least two of these areas:

- Why people immigrate to the US today (push and pull factors)
- Difficulties immigrants face today
- Changes in immigration laws
- Success stories of recent immigrants

Write a paragraph in which you compare today's reasons for immigration with one historical reason from the list below. (For example: Are today's immigrants also fleeing wars or poverty?)

https://ushistoryxueying.weebly.com/immigration.html

Historical facts

1860: high rate of unemployment, poverty and hope for better future for Dutch, Scandinavian and German people.

1848: Revolution in Germany

1845-1849: Potato Famine in Ireland

1860-1900: great poverty and very high rate of birth in Italy

1881-1884: Pogroms in Russia against Jewish people (religious persecutions against Jews). Jewish villages were burnt

1914-1918: First World War.

In the 1920s The US was undergoing dynamic changes. The country benefitted financially from winning the World War I and became extremely prosperous. Many people achieved their dreams in those times. The Great Gatsby, a 1925 novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald best exemplifies the spirit of the Roaring Twenties. Watch the movie trailer to get an idea of the plot. How do you think the story explores the theme of the American Dream?

Now watch a short presentation of the book, and work in pairs to discuss the questions below:

What is the relationship between wealth and happiness in the story?
What symbols of the 1920s are mentioned/ alluded to?
Which are the moral choices of the main characters and what are their consequences?
How does Fitzgerald use the characters to expose the emptiness of materialism?
Are the novel's themes still relevant in contemporary society?

Can you name any people who you think might epitomise the American Dream?

What have they achieved of value?

Some people say that the American Dream is just a myth or that it is a dream that has gone sour. Watch the video below and make notes of details that support this idea.

Now answer the following questions:

1. What percentage of American men raised in the bottom 20% of incomes remain in that income bracket?

2. How much do women earn compared to men in the United States?

3. Name three innovative companies mentioned in the video that started in the US.

4. Compare and contrast economic mobility in the United States with other countries mentioned in the video.

5. Explain the concept of the "American Dream" as discussed in the video.

6. Analyze the relationship between economic opportunity and innovation based on the speaker's arguments.

7. Evaluate the potential long-term consequences of systemic inequality of opportunity in the United States.

8. Critically analyze the statement "Anyone who can work can work" in the context of modern economic realities.

Listen to the song below and pay attention to the lyrics. Which words refer to the American Dream? How much do you relate to the message as you first perceive it?

The Federal Empire have written the perfect satirical anthem for your July 4th. The band has thoughtfully created some of the cleverest and poignant lyrics we have heard in the post-election world we now live. What we appreciate about this track is the way they label the many issues of a consumer culture while still being noticeably for their country and freedom. This is not off handed criticism but relevant and pointed at various cultural problems from Netflix to Playboy. The group succeeds where all too many acts fail. Great satire as well as cultural critique which comes from a passionate belief that things should be better within the subject of value. It is not criticism only but a desire for something better. With “The American Dream”, The Federal Empire are able to construct a compelling case for better. Oh, and they do it with a tremendously catchy sound, which is not to be dismissed. (review from https://www.eartothegroundmusic.co/2017/07/04/the-american-dream-by-the-federal-empire-is-the-jam-your-4th-needs/)

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