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Wikipedia defines the American Dream as “a national ethos of the United States, the set of ideals (democracy,
The phrase “The American Dream was popularized by James Truslow Adams in his 1931 book, The Epic of America,. In it he wrote, “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.”
The novelist Thomas Wolfe said this about the American Dream: “…to every man, regardless of his birth, his shining, golden opportunity ….the right to live, to work, to be himself, and to become whatever thing his manhood and his vision can combine to make him.” Thus, the American Dream consists of three parts: 1) everyone should have access to a fuller and richer life, depending on their ability and achievement; 2) a social order that depends not on birth, but on capabilities; and 3) an implicit belief that the future holds a better life for everyone, that each of us will be better off than our parents. It is the dream of a meritocracy rather than an aristocracy (even when that aristocracy is a matter of wealth rather than class).
There is broad agreement that at its heart, “The American Dream” is the expectation that each generation will achieve a more fulfilling and more prosperous life than its predecessors. That the American Dream is expressed by the opportunity “to be all that we can be.” Martin Luther King spoke of his dream. He said, “And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.’
“I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today!”
“I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of “interposition” and “nullification” — one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today!
“I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; “and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.”
King also described that dream as a promissory note written by our Founding Fathers that he and the thousands with him marched on Washington to cash. He said, “It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked “insufficient funds.”
So, where does that dream stand today, for all Americans? Are there sufficient funds to cash it? The answer is clear for people of color.
- We are not yet at the point where we can say that we live in a nation where people are not judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
- We are not at the point where black men can walk down the street and not be afraid of the policeman standing in front of them.
- We are not yet at the point where black men and women have equal access to health care, and thus we are living in a country where a raging pandemic affects whites and people of color differently.
Moreover, the American dream is still unrealized for many Americans of all races.
- We are not yet at the point where every man and woman can freely exercise their right to vote.
- We are not yet at the point where every American is free from want; where no American is hungry; where no American is sick because they do not have access to health care.
- We are not now at the point that every American enjoys the dignity of working at a job that pays a living wage.
- We are not at the point where every American can expect that his children will enjoy greater economic and social success than she does.
In fact, according to the World Economic Forum’s Social Mobility Report the United States is 27th among eighty nations in social mobility and it would take five generations for those born in a low income household to approach mean income (see chart below).
Number of generations it would take for those born in a
low-income family to approach mean income
The Brookings Institute writes, “Central to the American ethos is the notion that it is possible to start out poor and become more prosperous: that hard work—not simply the circumstances you were born into—offers real prospects for success. But there is a growing gap between families at the top and bottom of the income distribution, raising concerns about the ability of today’s disadvantaged to work their way up the economic ladder.” For the poorest third of American children, family income has actually declined (see chart below).
The Brookings Report says, “While social mobility and economic opportunity are important aspects of the American ethos, the data suggest they are more myth than reality. In fact, a child’s family income plays a dominant role in determining his or her future income, and those who start out poor are likely to remain poor (see chart below).
Finally, we are very far from the point where every American child can expect to receive a quality education such that that education will raise a poor child out of poverty. Researchers have found that the children of low income and high income families are born with similar abilities but different opportunities. Waldfogel and Washbrook found that “despite similar starting points, by age four, children in the highest income quintile score, on average, in the 69th percentile on tests of literacy and mathematics, while children in the lowest income quintile score in the 34th and 32nd percentile, respectively.”
Nor has higher education been a path out of poverty for low income Americans because so few graduate (see chart below). Only 9% of individuals in the bottom income quartile graduate from college compared to 54% of those in the top quartile.
Conclusions. The American Dream is the idea that every American has the opportunity to succeed, regardless of his circumstances. This idea has often been the driving force for individual achievement, for the many stories of “rags to riches,” for the continuing relevance of the Horatio Alger myth. It is not inconsequential that Horatio Alger saw his greatest success during the second half of the nineteenth century, “the Gilded Age.”
Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of the American Dream as a promissory written by the Founders, from a checking account with insufficient funds, especially for People of Color. In the 21st century, the American Dream no longer is painted in bright colors. The United States has become a caricature of its dream, with rising income inequality such that it will take five generations for someone from a low-income background to reach the mean level of income.
This fading of the American Dream brings with it anger, frustration and social disorder, and if not revitalized, threatens the very soul of America.
