American Dream Critical Essay

The American dream is an important part of the American society. It defines the national philosophy of the United States which is based on the principles of democracy. The American dream promises all people living in America prosperity by providing equal opportunities. The idea of the American dream was first introduced by James Adams in the early 1930s when he described the American society as a society where all members irrespective of their social and economic status strive to live a better, richer and happy life.

The ideas of the American dream are however based on the Declaration of Independence which was written by the nation’s founding father. The declaration states that all people were created equal and nature gives them some fundamental rights which cannot be violated including the right to life, right to liberty and right to pursue happiness (Cullen, pp 6). Majority of the people maintains that the American dream that promises all people prosperity is the main reason why the United States has remained at the top of the world affairs.

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The high number of immigrants from all over the world moving to the United States every day is directly related to the promise of prosperity in America. People from all over the world see the United States as a land of opportunity. The American dream is linked to the building of a cohesive and very successful American society. The United States has developed into the largest economy in the world, most powerful country providing the best quality education, healthcare and justice to people living in the country.

Being a country of immigrants, consisting of individuals from virtually every corner of the world, the American dream assures all visitors to the country prosperity and opportunities (Library of Congress, Para 1). However, it is important to note that the American dream has been accused of being over inflated with many expectations which some people consider unrealistic. Despite the American dream promise of a free, democratic, equal and classless society, some pessimist and commentators have accused the modern social structures to be otherwise.

The modern social, political and economic structures in the American society promote socioeconomic classes. The structures have resulted into inequality between different social classes, races and other minority groups in the society. These critics have based their argument on the observable facts in the society such as how the successes or failures of individuals are connected to their prior social, political and economic position in the society rather that the advantages and disadvantages the individual is exposed to (Cullen, pp 26).

However, the American society has established beacons of prosperity and freedom for all over the last two centuries. This is in comparison with other countries in the world especially in the developing world many of which are struggling in the establishment of democracy. Many people are for the argument that this achievement is as a result of the philosophies, ethos and ethics in the American dream that have been profound part of the American society since the Proclamation of Independence by the American founding fathers.

This principles and ethos have over the last two centuries been implemented in the best way possible which has resulted into the United States being the most powerful nation, economically, socially and politically (Cullen, pp 14). The American dream has changed progressively over the years. Today, the American dream promised all children and youth equal and quality education. The adult population is also assured of equal employment opportunities in the country according to their abilities and achievements. This has led to the elimination of racial segregation and any form of discrimination against the minority groups.

This has led to a very high number of immigrants from all over the world moving to the United States in pursuit for the American dream. People around the world have over the years seen America as the world of opportunities. There are very large numbers of people moving into America either legally or illegally from South and Central America, Europe, Africa and Asia in search of jobs, education and generally better living conditions. This is despite studies indicating that a good number of Americans have lost hope in the American dream (Cullen, pp 93).

The promise of prosperity by the American dream has attracted a very large number of Chinese into the United States. Today, the number of people of Chinese origin living in the United States is estimated to be almost three and half million people and account for about one percent of the American total population (Pfaelzer, pp 6). Majority of Chinese Americans are in the middle class social class. There have been three waves of Chinese immigration into America. The first wave happened in the early 19th century. Initially, only merchants and male students moved into the United States.

However, as a result of the California gold rush, massive number of Chinese moved into the country in the mid 19th century. They worked as laborers in the plantations and in the construction of the transcontinental railroad. The European settlers were however not happy about the presence of the Chinese and pushed for laws against immigration through labor unions, political parties and other social organizations. This led to the enactment of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1892 which prohibited the Chinese from moving into the land of prosperity (Pfaelzer, pp 7).

The second wave of the Chinese immigration started in 1949 after the enactment of the Chinese Exclusion Repeal Act which allowed the Chinese to move into the United States and allowed the Chinese living in America at the time to become citizens by naturalization. The second wave of immigration ended in the 1980s which led to the start of the third wave of immigration. Today, there are a large number of Chinese from China or Taiwan moving into the United States in search of better jobs, education and lifestyles.

In addition to the high number of Chinese students and professional migration to America, a good number of illegal immigrants take the risk of moving into the United States without proper immigration documents. These aliens go searching for manual and poor paying jobs and concentrate in cities such as New York. There have been concerns in China where very large number of student moving to America in search of university and graduate education end up not returning to their country of origin after completing their education.

These Chinese students have greatly been favored by the Chinese Student Protection Act enacted in 1992 (Cassel, pp 78). In conclusion, the successes of the American society have been linked to the ethos and principles in the American dream. The American dream promises prosperity to all people by respecting their fundamental rights and freedoms. This has led to high number of immigrants moving into the United States in the last two centuries in search for better education, lifestyles and opportunities. Work Cited

Cassel, Susan Lan. The Chinese in America: A History from Gold Mountain to the New Millennium, ISBN 0759100012; AltaMira Press, (2002). Cullen, Jim. The American dream: a short history of an idea that shaped a nation, New York; Oxford University Press, (2004). Library of Congress. American Memory. "What is the American Dream? ” Retrieved on 11th May 2010 from; http://memory. loc. gov/learn/lessons/97/dream/thedream. html Pfaelzer. Jean. Driven Out: The Forgotten War Against Chinese Americans. ISBN 1400061342 Random House, (2007).

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