NEW BEGINNINGS: THE AMERICAN DREAM
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Date
2016-05
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Hood College Arts and Humanities
Program
Humanities
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Abstract
This portfolio identifies the principles of the American dream and explores
how Americans recognized new opportunities and took advantage of them to
improve their lives. A close examination of the challenges the United States
encountered during the nineteenth century shows that specialized tools were
needed to countermand the negative effects of industrialization and urbanization.
This portfolio looks at three distinct situations that demonstrate how the American
dream was or was not achieved during the nineteenth century. The Young Men's
Christian Association helped young men achieve their American dream through
evangelical Protestantism, Christian fellowship, and education. Strong local
government was needed to maintain sound infrastructure and reliable
transportation so that the members of its community were free to seek their
American dream. Married women were denied their American dream because
common law restricted them from owning property for most of the nineteenth
century. This portfolio argues that while not all will be successful in realizing the
American dream, it is attainable when one hopes for something better and is
willing to work hard to achieve one's goals.