How Did The American Dream Affect Society

The American Dream is a concept that can be traced to the founding fathers of America, which entails ideals such as democracy, equality, freedom, liberty, human rights and opportunity for all to live a better and prosperous life. These ideals are achieved through hard work in an environment that has no barriers and offers equal opportunities for all. The coming of the American Dream came with the declaration of independence from England. People were filled with hope as they believed in the right to freedom, life and pursuing happiness. The idea was the creation of a nation in which people would be free from restrictions to pursue the life they want for themselves. This definition of the American Dream has changed over the course of time as people started deviating from the ideals of liberty, rights, and hard work. Hard work is now just caused by wanting to make the most money and wanting to have power and control. …show more content…
Equality was a central theme in the American dream and people were to be treated as one, segregation deviated from this ideal. Everyone was to have freedom and liberty. Martin Luther King Jr in his famous speech, I Have A Dream reminded Americans of their deviation from the ideals of the American Dream. He challenged the nation by reminding them of their failure to honor the promise of freedom and equality for all American regardless of color. In a part of the speech, King reminds Americans “we are simply seeking to bring into full realization the American dream. A dream of equality of opportunity, of privilege and property widely distributed” (King). This implied the deviation from the virtues that the American dream was based