InstructionsCASE STUDY - THE COMPLETE ACCOUNTING CYCLEName ______.docx

InstructionsCASE STUDY - THE COMPLETE ACCOUNTING
CYCLEName: ___________________________________This
Case Study is worth 100 points, or 10% of your final course
grade.This Case Study relates to TCOs E and F, and Chapters 2
and 3.MAKE SURE TO COMPLETE ALL REQUIREMENTS
WHICH ARE LISTED BELOW.There are 10 sheets in the
Workbook, including this one.All of the information that you
need for the project is located in this
Workbook.RequirementsSheet in WorkbookRequirement 1—
Prepare the Journal Entries in the General JournalJournal
EntriesRequirement 2—Post Journal Entries to the General
LedgerGeneral LedgerRequirement 3—Prepare a Trial
BalanceTrial BalanceRequirement 4—Prepare the Adjusting
EntriesAdjusting EntriesRequirement 5—Post Adjusting Entries
to the General LedgerGeneral LedgerRequirement 6—Prepare
an Adjusted Trial BalanceAdjusted Trial BalanceRequirement
7—Prepare the Financial StatementsFinancial
StatementsRequirement 8—Prepare the Closing EntriesClosing
EntriesRequirement 9—Post Closing Entries to the General
LedgerGeneral LedgerRequirement 10—Prepare the Post
Closing Trial BalancePost-Closing Trial BalanceHint for
success: Review the Week 2 Lesson prior to starting this
project.There are also hints contained within certain cells on
some of the Worksheet tabs. You can hover over the red pointer
at the top right-hand corner of the cell to read the hint.Hints are
provided for the following balances:1) The debits for the
journal entries are on the Journal Entries tab.2) The credits for
the journal entries are on the Journal Entries tab.3) The cash
balance is on the General Ledger tab.4) The debits for the trial
balance are on the Trial Balance tab.5) The credits for the trial
balance are on the Trial Balance tab.6) The debits for the
adjusted trial balance are on the Adjusted Trial Balance tab.7)
The credits for the adjusted trial balance are on the Adjusted
Trial Balance tab.8) Net income for the income statement is on

the Financial Statements tab.9) Retained earnings as of July 31
are on the Financial Statements tab.10) Total assets for the
balance sheet are on the Financial Statements tab.11) Total
liabilities and shareholders' equity for the balance sheet are on
the Financial Statements tab.12) The debits for the post-closing
trial balance are on the Post-Closing Trial Balance tab.13) The
credits for the post-closing trial balance are on the Post-Closing
Trial Balance tab.
Journal EntriesRequirement #1:During its first month of
operation, the Quick Tax Corporation, which specializes in tax
preparation,completed the following transactions.July 1Began
business by making a deposit in a company bank account of
$60,000, in exchangefor 6,000 shares of $10 par value common
stock.July 3Paid the current month's rent, $3,500July 5Paid the
premium on a 1-year insurance policy, $4,200July 7Purchased
supplies on account from Little Company, $1,000.July 10Paid
employee salaries, $3,500July 14Purchased equipment from
Lake Company, $10,000. Paid $2,500 down and the balance
wasplaced on account. Payments will be $500.00 per month
until the equipment is paid. The first payment is due 8/1.Note:
Use accounts payable for the balance due.July 15Received cash
for preparing tax returns for the first half of July, $8,000July
19Made payment on account to Lake Company, $500.July
31Received cash for preparing tax returns for the last half of
July, $9,000July 31Declared and paid cash dividends of
$600.Prepare journal entries to record the July transactions in
the General Journal below.Use the following account names for
journal entries.General JournalChart of Accounts: Account Title
(Normal Balance)DateDescription(Account
Name)DebitCreditAssetsCash (Debit)Prepaid Insurance
(Debit)Supplies (Debit)Equipment (Debit)Accumulated
Depreciation - Equipment (Credit)LiabilitiesAccounts Payable
(Credit)Income Tax Payable (Credit)Stockholders'
EquityCommon Stock (Credit)Retained Earnings
(Credit)Dividends (Debit)RevenueTax Preparation Revenue
(Credit)ExpensesRent Expense (Debit)Salaries Expense

(Debit)Insurance Expense (Debit)Supplies Expense
(Debit)Depreciation Expense (Debit)Income Tax Expense
(Debit)0
DeVry: Debits equal $100,300
0
DeVry: Credits equal $100,300
Note: Remember that debits must equal credits—All of your
journal entries should balance.
General LedgerThis Sheet will be used for Requirements 2, 5,
and 9.Requirement #2:Post the July journal entries to the
following T-accounts and compute ending balances.Cash (111)
DeVry: The balance of the Cash account after posting all
journal entries should be $62,200.
Tax Preparation RevenuePrepaid Insurance (117)Rent Expense
(511)Supplies (119)Salaries Expense (512)Equipment
(144)Insurance Expense (513)Accumulated Depreciation-
Equipment (145)Supplies Expense (514)Accounts Payable
(212)Depreciation Expense (515)Income Tax Payable
(213)Income Tax Expense (516)Common Stock (311)Retained
Earnings (312)Dividends (313
Trial BalanceRequirement #3:Prepare a trial balance for July in
the space below.Quick Tax CorporationTrial BalanceJuly 310
0
Adjusting EntriesRequirement #4: Prepare adjusting entries

using the following information in the General Journalbelow.
Show your calculations!a) One month's insurance has expired.b)
The remaining inventory of supplies is $400.c) The estimated
depreciation on equipment is $125.d) The estimated income
taxes are $3,000.General JournalDateDescription (Account
Name)DebitCreditRequirement #5:Post the adjusting entries to
the General Ledger T-accounts and compute adjusted
balances.Just add to the balances that are already listed.
Adjusted Trial BalanceRequirement #6: Prepare an adjusted
trial balance in the space below.Quick Tax CorporationAdjusted
Trial BalanceJuly 310
0
Financial StatementsRequirement #7:Prepare the financial
statements for the Quick Tax Corporation as of July 31 in the
space below.You will only be preparing the income statement,
statement of retained earnings, and the balance sheet.The
statement of cash flows is a required financial statement, but is
not required for this case study.Quick Tax CorporationQuick
Tax CorporationQuick Tax CorporationIncome
StatementStatement of Retained EarningsBalance SheetFor the
Month Ending July 31For the Month Ending July 31July
31Revenues:Retained Earnings, July 1Assets:RevenueAdd: Net
IncomeCashSubtotalSuppliesExpenses:Less: DividendsPrepaid
InsuranceRent ExpenseRetained Earnings, July 31
DeVry: Retained Earnings equals $5,325
EquipmentSalaries ExpenseLess: Accum. Depr.Insurance
ExpenseTotal Assets

DeVry: Total assets equals $76,325
Supplies ExpenseDepreciation ExpenseLiabilities:Income Tax
ExpenseAccounts Payable Total ExpensesIncome Tax
PayableTotal LiabilitiesNet Income
DeVry: Net Income equals $5,925
Stockholders' Equity:Common StockRetained EarningsTotal
Stockholders' EquityTotal Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity
DeVry: Total Liabilities & Stockholders' Equity equals $76,325
Closing EntriesRequirement #8:Prepare the closing entries at
July 31 in the General Journal below.General
JournalDateDescription (Account
Name)DebitCreditRequirement #9:Post the closing entries to the
General Ledger T-accounts and compute ending balances.Just
add to the adjusted balances already listed.
Post-Closing Trial BalanceRequirement #10:Prepare a post-
closing trial balance as of July 31 in the space below.Quick Tax
CorporationPost-Closing Trial BalanceJuly 310
0
Grading RubricCase Study 1 Rubric Please note that this rubric
provides a general guideline, but you can score anywhere
between 0 and the maximum number of points for that step,
depending on the accuracy and completenessof your
work.CriteriaOutstandingGoodPoorVery PoorPoints
AwardedStep 1 Prepared Journal Entries (20
points)Journal entries use accurate accounts and amounts; and
debits and credits are used correctly. Minor errors such as

incorrect account names or credits listed prior to debits.Errors
in computations that resulted in incorrect amounts to be debited
and credited.Evidence of an attempt to complete the journal
entries.20 points16 points12 points8 pointsStep 2
Posted to the General Ledger (10 points)Posting is correct,
leading to accurate account balances.Posting is mostly correct,
but minor errors are evident.Posting has several errors that
resulted in incorrect account balances.Posting is done poorly,
but does show evidence of an attempt to complete.10 points8
points6 points4 pointsStep 3 Prepared a Trial
Balance (10 points)Correct account names and balances so to
arrive at a correct trial balance. Some minor errors such as
incorrect account names or incorrect totals due to errors in prior
steps.Errors in computations that resulted in incorrect amounts
to be debited and credited.Evidence of an attempt to complete
the trial balance.10 points8 points6 points4 pointsStep 4
Prepared Adjusting Journal Entries (10 points)Journal entries
use accurate accounts and amounts; and debits and credits are
used correctly. Journal entries mostly use accurate accounts and
amounts; and debits and credits are used correctly.Journal
entries have some errors in use of accounts and amounts; and
debits and credits are only used somewhat correctly.Journal
entries have some errors in use of accounts and amounts; and
debits and credits are not used correctly.10 points8 points6
points4 pointsSteps 5 and 6 Posted and
Prepared an Unadjusted Trial Balance (10 points)Posting is
correct, leading to an accurate trial balance.Posting is mostly
correct, leading to a mostly correct trial balance.Posting has
several errors, leading to a trial balance with several
errors.Posting is done poorly or not at all, leading to inaccurate
or no trial balance.10 points8 points6 points4 pointsStep 7
Prepared Financial Statements (20 points)All three Financial
Statements are prepared accurately and in an appropriate
format.Two of the three financial Statements are prepared
accurately, and mostly in an appropriate format. One statement
has some errors.One of the three Financial Statements is

prepared accurately and mostly in an appropriate format. Two
statements have some errors.One or fewer of four Financial
Statements are prepared accurately and mostly in an appropriate
format. Three or all statements have some errors.20 points16
points12 points8 pointsStep 8 Prepared
Closing Journal Entries (10 points)Journal entries use accurate
accounts and amounts; and debits and credits are used correctly.
Journal entries mostly use accurate accounts and amounts; and
debits and credits are used correctly.Journal entries have some
errors in use of accounts and amounts; and debits and credits
are only somewhat used correctly.Journal entries have some
errors in use of accounts and amounts; and debits and credits
are not used correctly.10 points8 points6 points4 pointsSteps 9
and 10 Posted and Prepared Post-Closing Trial
Balance (10 points)Posting is correct, leading to an accurate
trial balance.Posting is mostly correct, leading to a mostly
correct trial balance.Posting has several errors, leading to a trial
balance with several errors.Posting is done poorly or not at all,
leading to inaccurate or no trial balance.10 points8 points6
points4 pointsTotal Points Earned Out of 100 Points0
The Guardian
“Is the American Dream really dead?”
By Carol Graham
June 20, 2017
Research shows that poor people in the US are 20 times less
likely to believe hard work will get them ahead than their
(poorer) Latin American counterparts – with white Americans
particularly pessimistic. What’s driving their despair?
The United States has a long-held reputation for exceptional
tolerance of income inequality, explained by its high levels of
social mobility. This combination underpins the American
dream – initially conceived of by Thomas Jefferson as each

citizen’s right to the pursuit of life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness.
This dream is not about guaranteed outcomes, of course, but
the pursuit of opportunities. The dream found a persona in the
fictional characters of the 19th-century writer Horatio Alger
Jr – in which young working-class protagonists go from from
rags to riches (or at least become middle class) in part due to
entrepreneurial spirit and hard work.
Yet the opportunity to live the American dream is much less
widely shared today than it was several decades ago. While 90%
of the children born in 1940 ended up in higher ranks of the
income distribution than their parents, only 40% of those born
in 1980 have done so.
Attitudes about inequality have also changed. In 2001, a study
found the only Americans who reported lower levels of
happiness amid greater inequality were left-leaning rich people
– with the poor seeing inequality as a sign of future
opportunity. Such optimism has since been substantially
tempered: in 2016, only 38% of Americans thought their
children would be better off than they are.
In the meantime, the public discussion about inequality has
completely by-passed a critical element of the American
dream: luck.
Just as in many of Alger’s stories the main character benefits
from the assistance of a generous philanthropist, there are
countless real examples of success in the US where different
forms of luck have played a major role. And yet, social support
for the unlucky – in particular, the poor who cannot stay in full-
time employment – has been falling substantially in recent
years, and is facing even more threats today.
In short, from new research based on some novel metrics of
wellbeing, I find strong evidence that the American dream is in

tatters, at least.
White despair, minority hope
My research began by comparing mobility attitudes in the US
with those in Latin America, a region long known for high
levels of poverty and inequality (although with progress in the
past decades). I explored a question in the Gallup world poll,
which asks respondents a classic American dream question:
“Can an individual who works hard in this country get ahead?”
I found very large gaps between the responses of ‘the rich’ and
‘the poor’ in the US (represented by the top and bottom 20%
income distributions of the Gallup respondents). This was in
stark contrast to Latin America, where there was no significant
difference in attitudes across income groups. Poor people in the
US were 20 times less likely to believe hard work would get
them ahead than were the poor in Latin America, even though
the latter are significantly worse off in material terms.
Another question in the poll explores whether or not
respondents experience stress on a daily basis. Stress is a
marker of poor health, and the kind of stress typically
experienced by the poor – usually due to negative shocks that
are beyond their control (“bad stress”) – is significantly worse
for wellbeing than “good stress”: that which is associated with
goal achievement, for those who feel able to focus on their
future.
In general, Latin Americans experience significantly less stress
– and also smile more – on a daily basis than Americans. The
gaps between the poor and rich in the US were significantly
wider (by 1.5 times on a 0–1 score) than those in Latin
America, with the poor in the US experiencing more stress than
either the rich or poor in Latin America.
The gaps between the expectations and sentiments of rich and
poor in the US are also greater than in many other countries in

east Asia and Europe (the other regions studied). It seems that
being poor in a very wealthy and unequal country – which
prides itself on being a meritocracy, and eschews social support
for those who fall behind – results in especially high levels of
stress and desperation.
But my research also yielded some surprises. With the low
levels of belief in the value of hard work and high levels of
stress among poor respondents in the US as a starting point, I
compared optimism about the future across poor respondents of
different races. This was based on a question in the US Gallup
daily poll that asks respondents where they think they will be
five years from now on a 0-10 step life satisfaction ladder.
I found that poor minorities – and particularly black people –
were much more optimistic about the future than poor white
people. Indeed, poor black respondents were three times as
likely to be a point higher up on the optimism ladder than were
poor whites, while poor Hispanic people were one and a half
times more optimistic than whites. Poor black people were also
half as likely as poor whites to experience stress the previous
day, while poor Hispanics were only two-thirds as likely as poor
whites.
What explains the higher levels of optimism among minorities,
who have traditionally faced discrimination and associated
challenges? There is no simple answer.
One factor is that poor minorities have stronger informal safety
nets and social support, such as families and churches, than do
their white counterparts. Psychologists also find that minorities
are more resilient and much less likely to report depression or
commit suicide than are whites in the face of negative shocks,
perhaps due to a longer trajectory of dealing with negative
shocks and challenges.
Another critical issue is the threat and reality of downward

mobility for blue-collar whites, particularly in the heartland of
the country where manufacturing, mining, and other jobs have
hollowed out. Andrew Cherlin of Johns Hopkins University
finds that poor black and Hispanic people are much more likely
than poor white people to report that they live better than their
parents did. Poor whites are more likely to say they live worse
than their parents did; they, in particular, seem to be living the
erosion of the American dream.
The American problem
Why does this matter? My research from a decade ago – since
confirmed by other studies – found that individuals who were
optimistic about their futures tended to have better health and
employment outcomes. Those who believe in their futures tend
to invest in those futures, while those who are consumed with
stress, daily struggles and a lack of hope, not only have less
means to make such investments, but also have much less
confidence that they will pay off.
Desperate people are more likely to die prematurely, but living
with a lot of premature death can also erode hope
The starkest marker of lack of hope in the US is a significant
increase in premature mortality in the past decade – driven by
an increase in suicides and drug and alcohol poisoning and a
stalling of progress against heart disease and lung cancer –
primarily but not only among middle-aged uneducated white
people. Mortality rates for black and Hispanic people, while
higher on average than those for whites, continued to fall during
the same time period.
The reasons for this trend are multi-faceted. One is the
coincidence of an all-too-readily-available supply of drugs such
as opioids, heroin and fentanyl, with the shrinking of blue-
collar jobs – and identities - primarily due to technological
change. Fifteen per cent of prime age males are out of the

labour force today; with that figure projected to increase to 25%
by 2050. The identity of the blue-collar worker seems to be
stronger for white people than for minorities, meanwhile. While
there are now increased employment opportunities in services
such as health, white males are far less likely to take them up
than are their minority counterparts.
Lack of hope also contributes to rising mortality rates, as
evidenced in my latest research with Sergio Pinto. On average,
individuals with lower optimism for the future are more likely
to live in metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) with higher
mortality rates for 45- to 54-year-olds.
Desperate people are more likely to die prematurely, but living
with a lot of premature death can also erode hope. Higher
average levels of optimism in metropolitan areas are also
associated with lower premature mortality rates. These same
places tend to be more racially diverse, healthier (as gauged by
fewer respondents who smoke and more who exercise), and
more likely to be urban and economically vibrant.
Technology-driven growth is not unique to the US, and low-
skilled workers face challenges in many OECD countries. Yet
by contrast, away from the US, they have not had a similar
increase in premature mortality. One reason may be stronger
social welfare systems – and stronger norms of collective social
responsibility for those who fall behind – in Europe.
Ironically, part of the problem may actually be the American
dream. Blue-collar white people – whose parents lived the
American dream and who expected their children to do so as
well – are the ones who seem most devastated by its erosion and
yet, on average, tend to vote against government programmes.
In contrast, minorities, who have been struggling for years and
have more experience multi-tasking on the employment front
and relying on family and community support when needed –
are more resilient and hopeful, precisely because they still see a

chance for moving up the ladder.
There are high costs to being poor in America, where winners
win big but losers fall hard. Indeed, the dream, with its focus on
individual initiative in a meritocracy, has resulted in far less
public support than there is in other countries for safety nets,
vocational training, and community support for those with
disadvantage or bad luck. Such strategies are woefully
necessary now, particularly in the heartland where some of
Alger’s characters might have come from, but their kind have
long since run out of luck.
Carol Graham is the author of Happiness for All? Unequal
Hopes and Lives in Pursuit of the American Dream (Princeton
University Press, 2017).
I NTR O D U CTI O N
The Making and Persistence
of the American Dream
John Kenneth White
Sandra L. Hanson
T
H E AM ER ICAN DR EAM remains a vibrant concept that
Amer-
icans comprehend and defi ne in various ways as relevant to
their
own life experiences. Th e endurance of this “great epic,” as it
was
once so famously described (Adams 1941, 405), is remarkable,

espe-
cially given the depressions, recessions, economic contractions,
and
battles over civil rights, women’s rights, and gender equality
that the
United States has witnessed over the years. Th ese economic
struggles
have been hard and are presently ongoing, starting with the
severe eco-
nomic downturn that began in December 2007 and resulted in
govern-
ment bailouts of the U.S. banking and automotive industries and
the
election of Barack Obama to the presidency, all before the end
of a sin-
gle calendar year. But other struggles, too, have caused citizens
to rede-
fi ne the American Dream. For much of our history, African
Americans
and women were excluded from its promise. It would be left to
Martin
Luther King and feminist leaders to enlarge the American
Dream to
include themselves and to encourage their constituencies to
have a stake
in its success. In 2008, Americans voted in their fi rst African
American
president. Th is dramatic moment in American history combined
with
one of the most severe economic downturns since the Great
Depression
provide the backdrop for this volume on the American Dream.
The American Dream throughout History
Th e resiliency of the American Dream can be traced to the

Declaration
of Independence in 1776 and its promise that citizens of the new
nation
2 ■ John Kenneth White and Sandra L. Hanson
were already endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable
rights,
including life and liberty, and that these same people were
entitled to
engage in many varied pursuits of happiness. Th ese pursuits of
happi-
ness oft en ended with many fi nding some degree of fulfi
llment. Writing
in 1831, Alexis de Tocqueville declared that the Americans he
encoun-
tered had “acquired or retained suffi cient education and
fortune to sat-
isfy their own wants.” Tocqueville added that they “owe nothing
to any
man, they expect nothing from any man, they acquire the habit
of always
considering themselves as standing alone, and they are apt to
imagine
that their whole destiny is in their own hands” (Tocqueville
1989, 194;
emphasis added).
Th ese sentiments give the American Dream its staying power.
Not
surprisingly, Americans have looked to their leaders since the
nation’s
founding to reaffi rm the promise of the American Dream, with
its guar-

antees of fuller liberties and a better life for all. In his 2009
inaugural
address, Obama gave testimony to the Dream’s endurance,
citing his
own life’s journey to become the fi rst African American
president: “Th is
is the meaning of our liberty and creed, why men and women
and chil-
dren of every race and every faith can join in celebration across
this
magnifi cent mall. And why a man whose father less than sixty
years ago
might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand
before
you to take a most sacred oath” (Obama 2009).
Yet it is not only in government documents or presidential
speeches
that the American Dream fi nds expression. Th e popular culture
also has
given the American Dream a powerful voice. Contrasting his
gritty child-
hood in Brooklyn at the turn of the twentieth century with his
stunning
success on Broadway by the age of twenty-fi ve, playwright
Moss Hart
concluded that the American Dream belonged not only to him
but to
everyone: “It was possible in this wonderful city for that
nameless little
boy—for any of its millions—to have a decent chance to scale
the walls
and achieve what they wished. Wealth, rank, or an imposing
name
counted for nothing. Th e only credential the city asked was the
boldness

to dream. For those who did, it unlocked its gates and its
treasures, not
caring who they were or where they came from” (Hart 1959,
436). Years
later, the Brian De Palma fi lm Scarface had a trailer describing
the main
character this way: “He loved the American Dream. With a
vengeance”
(Kamp 2009).
Surprisingly, the term “American Dream” is of relatively recent
vin-
tage. Journalist Walter Lippmann fi rst used the term “American
Dream”
The Making and Persistence of the American Dream ■ 3
in a 1914 book titled Drift and Mastery in which he urged
readers to
fi nd a new Dream for the twentieth century that would end the
malaise
of government inaction that had allowed American politics to
aimlessly
drift (Jillson 2004, 6). But historian James Truslow Adams
popularized
the phrase “American Dream” in 1931. In his book titled Th e
Epic of
America (and whose working title was Th e American Dream),
Adams
described the American Dream in terms Hart would recognize:
“that
dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and
fuller for
every man, with opportunity for each according to ability or

achieve-
ment” (Adams 1941, 404). But, for Adams, the American Dream
involved
something more than mere acquisition of wealth and fame:
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, regard-
less of the fortuitous circumstances of their birth. . . . It has
been
a dream of being able to grow to fullest development as man
and
woman, unhampered by the barriers which had slowly been
erected in older civilizations, unrepressed by social orders
which
had developed for the benefi t of classes rather than for the
simple
human being of any and every class. And that dream has been
realized more fully in actual life here than anywhere else,
though
very imperfectly even among ourselves. (Ibid., 404–405)
At its core, the American Dream represents a state of mind—
that is,
an enduring optimism given to a people who might be tempted
to suc-
cumb to the travails of adversity, but who, instead, repeatedly
rise from
the ashes to continue to build a great nation. Even in the midst
of the
Great Depression, Adams was confi dent that the United States
would
overcome its diffi culties and that the American Dream would
endure
thanks to a prevailing optimism that sustains it. Th is die-hard

optimism,
Adams declared, had already carried the nation from its
primitive begin-
nings into the twentieth century and remained the source of its
contin-
ued successes:
Beginning with a guard scarce suffi cient to defend the
stockade
at Jamestown against a few naked Indians, we grew until we
were
able to select from nearly 25,000,000 men of military age such
millions as we would to hurl back at our enemies across the sea,
only nine generations later. A continent which scarce suffi ced
to
maintain a half million savages now supports nearly two hun-
dred and fi ft y times that number of as active and industrious
people as there are in the world. Th e huge and empty land has
been fi lled with homes, roads, railways, schools, colleges,
hospi-
tals, and all the comforts of the most advanced material civiliza-
tion. (Ibid., 401–402)
Notably, Adams penned these words at a time when economic
fear
was rampant, the stock market had collapsed two years before,
the inef-
fectual Herbert Hoover was president, and the nation’s very
survival
seemed very much in doubt. By 1933, the stock market had lost
75 per-

cent of its 1929 value, national income had been cut in half,
exports
were at their lowest levels since 1904, and more than six
hundred thou-
sand properties (mostly farms) had been foreclosed (Alter 2006,
148).
Surveying the economic desolation in January 1933, former
president
Calvin Coolidge remarked: “In other periods of depression it
has always
been possible to see some things which were solid and upon
which you
could base hope. But as I look about me I see nothing to give
ground for
such hope—nothing of man” (Ibid.). (Within days, Coolidge
was dead.)
Although Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal brought economic
relief,
the new president knew that to make his eff orts long-lasting,
they should
be linked to a new American Dream. Accordingly, Roosevelt
told his
fellow Democrats upon accepting renomination in 1936:
“Liberty
requires opportunity to make a living decent according to the
standard
of the time, a living that gives man not only enough to live by,
but some-
thing to live for.” Without the opportunity to make a living,
Roosevelt
continued, “life was no longer free; liberty no longer real; men
could no
longer follow the pursuit of happiness” (Roosevelt 1936).
Yet even in the midst of a Great Depression, Americans sensed
that

their collective futures would be bright, if not for themselves,
then
surely for their heirs. A poll the Roper Organization conducted
in 1938
found only 30 percent agreed that a top limit should be imposed
on
incomes, with anyone exceeding that limit remitting the excess
to the
federal government in the form of excise taxes; 61 percent
disagreed
(Roper Organization, 1938). Americans believed economic
prosperity
was possible and achieving it would ratify the American Dream
whose
promise of hard work (not good luck) is the path to prosperity.
Indeed,
through every period of triumph and tragedy, Adams maintained
that
the American Dream was the glue that kept the country
together: “We
have a long and arduous road to travel if we are to realize the
American
Dream in the life of our nation, but if we fail, there is nothing
left but the
eternal round. Th e alternative is the failure of self-government,
the fail-
ure of the common man to rise to full stature, the failure of all
that the
American Dream has held of hope and promise for mankind”
(Adams
1941, 416).

Adams’s words have echoed throughout the decades,
particularly at
the onset of Obama’s presidency. Like Roosevelt before him,
Obama has
had to summon the nation from the sloughs of despair.
Accepting the
Democratic presidential nomination in 2008, Obama sought to
cast
himself as an exemplar of the American Dream and the best
person who
could revive and reclaim it for the rest of us:
Four years ago, I stood before you and told you my story, of
the brief union between a young man from Kenya and a young
woman from Kansas who weren’t well-off or well-known, but
shared a belief that in America their son could achieve whatever
he put his mind to.
It is that promise that’s always set this country apart, that
through hard work and sacrifi ce each of us can pursue our indi-
vidual dreams, but still come together as one American family,
to ensure that the next generation can pursue their dreams, as
well. Th at’s why I stand here tonight. Because for 232 years, at
each moment when that promise was in jeopardy, ordinary men
and women, students and soldiers, farmers and teachers, nurses
and janitors, found the courage to keep it alive.
We meet at one of those defi ning moments, a moment when
our nation is at war, our economy is in turmoil, and the Ameri-
can promise has been threatened once more. (Obama 2008)
Th e threat of which Obama spoke was very real. Even as he
uttered
these words, the nation was mired in a recession judged by most
econo-

mists to have been the worst since the Great Depression of the
1930s.
More than 7,200,000 jobs were lost; the offi cial unemployment
rate
exceeded 10 percent for the fi rst time in twenty-nine years; and
the
number of Americans who gave up looking for work or were
marginally
attached workers hit the 17 percent mark (Fox 2009). Taking
note of
these dismal statistics, Obama declared that they represented
“the
American Dream [going] in reverse” (Kamp 2009).
Despite these adverse statistics and continued uncertainty
regarding
whether the prescriptions the Obama administration has issued
for eco-
nomic revival will work, faith in the American Dream itself
remains
strong. In 2009, 75 percent told pollsters from CBS News and
the New
York Times that they had either already achieved the American
Dream
or that they expected to achieve it; only one in fi ve said it was
unattain-
able (CBS News/New York Times 2009). Sociologist Barry
Glassner
explained why the American Dream was not imperiled, despite
the
straightened economic circumstances:

You want to hold onto your dream when times are hard. For the
vast majority of Americans at every point in history, the pros-
pect of achieving the American Dream has been slim, but the
promise has been huge. . . . At its core, this notion that anyone
can be president, or anyone can be a billionaire, is absurd. A lot
of Americans work hard, but they don’t become president and
they don’t become billionaires. (Seelye 2009)
Yet for many Americans, holding onto the American Dream has
become increasingly more diffi cult. During his presidency,
Bill Clinton
defi ned the American Dream this way: “If you work hard and
play by
the rules, you should be given a chance to go as far as your
God-given
ability will take you” (Jillson 2004, 7). But in the years since,
many
Americans have hit a glass ceiling. In 2002, Barbara Ehrenreich
began to
hear from college graduates and white-collar workers who
upbraided
her for not taking note of their hard-luck stories, “despite doing
every-
thing else right.” As one unhappy middle-class correspondent
told
Ehrenreich:
Try investigating people like me who didn’t have babies in high
school, who made good grades, who work hard and don’t kiss a
lot of ass and instead of getting promoted or paid fairly must
regress to working for $7/hr., having their student loans in per-
petual deferment, living at home with their parents, and gen-
erally exist in debt which they feel they may never get out of.
(Ehrenreich 2005, 1–2)

As Phyllis Moen and Patricia Roehling have observed, “Th e
American
Dream is itself a metaphor for occupational success, a metaphor
that
works for the winners of the educational and occupational
career game,
but that remains elusive for growing numbers of men and
women across
age, class, educational, racial, ethnic, and geographical divides”
(Moen
and Roehling 2005, 188).
Even so, the American Dream still endures, and that endurance
is a
testament to its power. Some years ago, singer/songwriter Bruce
Spring-
steen wondered aloud in a song entitled “Th e River” whether
the Amer-
ican Dream was a lie or it represented something worse (White
1990,
28). But this is a question that most Americans do not want to
consider.
Instead of questioning the American Dream, Americans are
more likely
to blame themselves when things do not turn out as they hoped.
Nearly
a half century ago, a mechanic admitted as much in an
interview:
I could have been a lot better off but through my own foolish-
ness, I’m not. What causes poverty? Foolishness. When I came
out of the service, my wife had saved a few dollars and I had a

few bucks. I wanted to have a good time, I’m throwing money
away like water. Believe me, had I used my head right, I could
have had a house. I don’t feel sorry for myself, what happened,
happened, you know. Of course you pay for it. (Lane 1962, 69)
Years later, an Iowa farmer facing foreclosure expressed a
similar view:
“My boys all made good. It’s their old man who failed”
(Malcolm 1987).
Th e fact is that the American Dream is deeply embedded in
Ameri-
can mythology and in the consciousness of its citizens. Th at is
exactly
what gives the American Dream its staying power, even in times
when
it seems as though it should surely die. Aft er all, myths last
because they
are dreams fulfi lled in our imaginations. So it is with the
American
Dream. And because it fi nds fulfi llment either in one’s own
life or in the
lives of others, Americans are ever more devoted to it. In 1978,
Garry
Wills famously observed that in the United States, one must
adopt the
American Dream “wholeheartedly, proclaim it, prove one’s
devotion to
it” (Wills 1978, xxii). Twenty years later, political scientist
Alan Wolfe
interviewed Henry Johnson, a successful, middle-class black
man from
DeKalb County, Georgia, who declared his ongoing faith in the
Ameri-
can Dream despite the adversities he had encountered in life: “I
think

the American Dream is alive and well, and I think I could sell
the Amer-
ican Dream to my kids through myself. Th is stuff about
working hard
and being morally sound and the more you give, the more you
receive
and things will come to you. I think those are all things that are
not fan-
tasies. Th ose things can happen and, through my own
experiences,
those things have happened. . . . Like I said, I believe in the
American
Dream, I do.” Sitting nearby, Johnson’s wife told the
interviewer, “Wow,
that was good; quote him on that” (Wolfe 1998, 317–318).
One reason the American Dream endures is that it has been
closely
intertwined with deeply held American values, especially
freedom and
equality of opportunity. In a 2008 poll, 75 percent strongly
agreed with
this statement: “America is unique among all nations, because it
is
founded on the ideals of freedom, equality, and opportunity”
(Green-
berg Quinlan Rosner Research 2008). Pollsters for CBS News
and the
New York Times found 27 percent of respondents specifi cally
linked the
American Dream to the values of freedom and equality of

opportunity.
Typical among the responses were these:
“Freedom to live our own life.”
“Someone could start from nothing.”
“Th at everybody has a fair chance to succeed.”
“To become whatever I want to be.”
“To be healthy and have nice family and friends.”
“More like Huck Finn; escape to the unknown; follow your
dreams.” (Seelye 2009)
Th e linking of the American Dream to equality of opportunity
is
particularly important to understanding the Dream’s endurance.
Equal-
ity of opportunity is a powerful concept, because, unlike other
individ-
ual rights that can be easily taken away by authoritarian
governments
(e.g., freedoms of speech and religious worship), it is a state of
mind
that is virtually impossible to eliminate. As the historian Adams
wrote,
“I once had an intelligent young Frenchman as a guest in New
York,
and aft er a few days I asked him what struck him most among
his new
impressions. Without hesitation, he replied, ‘Th e way that
everyone of
every sort looks you right in the eye, without a thought of
inequality’”
(Adams 1941, 404). Tocqueville once declared that if given the
choice
between freedom and equality, most Americans would choose
the lat-

ter for that very reason (Tocqueville 1989, 96). Although
Tocqueville
wrote about nineteenth-century Americans, his words still have
reso-
nance. Englishman G. K. Chesterton noted that what separated
the
United States from his native country in the twentieth century
was the
American commitment to a democratic theory based on the idea
of
equality: “It is the pure classic conception that no man must
aspire to be
anything more than a citizen, and that no man should endure
anything
less.” Th e ideal citizen, said Chesterton, was someone who
believed in
“an absolute of morals by which all men have a value invariable
and
indestructible and a dignity as intangible as death” (Chesterton
1922,
16–17). At the onset of the twenty-fi rst century, the words of
Adams,
Tocqueville, and Chesterton remain Rosetta stones to
understanding
how the battles over civil rights for African Americans, feminist
rights,
and gay rights are working their way toward greater equality for
more
Americans.
As the recent struggles over civil rights, women’s rights, and

gay
rights illustrate, the American Dream is not a static concept.
Although
Americans have historically associated the American Dream
with the
values of freedom and equality of opportunity, these values
have under-
gone various iterations over the years. Remarkably, the very fi
rst survey
concerning the American Dream was not conducted until 1985,
when
CBS News and the New York Times asked a question that
explicitly tied
the American Dream to the concept of home ownership: “Do
you think
that people who may never own a house miss out on an
important part
of the American Dream?” Not surprisingly, 76 percent answered
“yes”
(CBS News/New York Times 1985). Other surveys have
demonstrated
how powerfully connected the American Dream is to a quantifi
ed mea-
sure of economic success (particularly educational attainment),
includ-
ing these responses:
84 percent said it meant being able to get a high school educa-
tion. (Wall Street Journal 1986)
79 percent said it meant owning a home. (Penn, Schoen, and
Berland Associates 2008)
77 percent said it meant being able to send one’s children to
college. (Ibid.)

76 percent said it meant being optimistic about the future.
(Ibid.)
68 percent said it meant being able to get a college education.
(Ibid.)
64 percent said it meant being fi nancially secure enough to
have
ample time for leisure pursuits. (Ibid.)
61 percent said it meant doing better than your parents did.
(Ibid.)
58 percent said it meant being able to start a business on one’s
own. (Ibid.)
52 percent said it meant being able to rise from clerk or worker
to president of a company. (Ibid.)
But although the American Dream remains closely tied to the
values
of freedom and equality of opportunity, its iterations throughout
the
years have changed. When a Penn, Schoen, and Berland
Associates 2008
study asked respondents to defi ne the American Dream, the
responses
were more spiritual and vested in emotional, rather than
material, secu-
rity. Substantial majorities considered the following items to be
a “major
part” of the American Dream:

Having a good family life, 93 percent (Ibid.)
Having quality health care for myself and my family, 90 percent
(Ibid.)
Having educational opportunities for myself and my family,
88 percent (Ibid.)
Being able to speak your mind regardless of the positions you
take, 85 percent (Ibid.)
Having a comfortable and secure retirement, 85 percent (Ibid.)
Being able to succeed regardless of your family background or
where you come from, 82 percent (Ibid.)
Being economically secure and not having to worry about being
able to aff ord things, 81 percent (Ibid.)
Achieving peace in the world, 63 percent (Ibid.)
Having the time to enjoy the good things in life without having
to work too many hours, 59 percent (Ibid.)
Reducing the eff ects of global warming, 56 percent (Ibid.)
Certainly, although economic security continues to define the
American Dream, the Dream itself has been broadened to
include a
greater sense of personal well-being and quality-of-life issues
(such as
having access to quality health care, working toward world
peace, and
reducing the harmful eff ects of global warming).

A Dream in Doubt? No. Harder to Achieve? Yes.
In an early-twentieth-century work titled Success among the
Nations, his-
torian Emil Reich declared that Americans were possessed “with
such an
implicit and absolute confi dence in their Union and in their
future suc-
cess, that any remark other than laudatory is unacceptable to the
major-
ity of them,” adding, “We have had many opportunities of
hearing public
speakers in America cast doubts upon the very existence of God
and of
Providence, question the historic nature or veracity of the whole
fabric
of Christianity; but it has never been our fortune to catch the
slightest
whisper of doubt, the slightest want of faith, in the chief God of
Amer-
ica, unlimited belief in the future of America” (Reich 1904,
265–266).
But in recent years, expressions of self-doubt about the nation’s
future have been uttered more frequently. Vice President Joseph
Biden,
for one, has said that “the American economic dream has begun
to
evaporate” (Dionne, Jr. 1987). What is striking is that the vice
president
made this declaration more than two decades ago as a candidate
seeking
the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988. Not
surprisingly, when
economic diffi culties beset the nation, one might suspect (a

Great
Depression notwithstanding) that the American Dream will take
a beat-
ing. So it is today. According to the most recent surveys:
75 percent claim the American Dream is not as attainable today
as it was when George W. Bush was elected president in 2000.
(Zogby International 2008)
59 percent believe the American Dream will be harder for
today’s
children under the age of eighteen to achieve. (Greenberg
Quinlan Rosner Research and Public Opinion Strategies 2009)
57 percent say the American Dream will be harder for them to
achieve in the next decade. (Time/Abt SRBI 2009)
54 percent believe the American Dream has become “impos-
sible” for most people to achieve. (Opinion Research Corpo-
ration 2006)
50 percent think they are either “somewhat far” or “very far”
from achieving the American Dream. (Henry J. Kaiser Family
Foundation/Washington Post/Harvard University 2008)
Despite these daunting statistics, faith in the American Dream
per-
sists. In March 2009, a moment when the economic crisis was
palpable,
the Gallup Organization and USA Today found an
overwhelming 72

percent still agreed with this statement: “If you work hard and
play by
the rules, you will be able to achieve the American Dream in
your life-
time” (Gallup Organization/USA Today 2009). Moreover, 69
percent
believed their children would achieve the American Dream
(Penn,
Schoen, and Berland Associates 2008).
In one sense, the American Dream will always remain elusive
and,
therefore, disappoint us. A 2008 survey makes the point: 84
percent
agreed that the American Dream is “a never-ending pursuit
[and] I can
always do more to achieve it” (Penn, Schoen, and Berland
Associates
2008). Achieving the American Dream will always be partly an
individ-
ual pursuit. Yet it is also a Dream that we entrust to our
presidents. Th e
subtitle of Obama’s book Th e Audacity of Hope reads
“thoughts on
reclaiming the American Dream” (Obama 2006). It is not, as
Obama
suggests, that the American Dream is lost; rather, there is a
prevailing
sense (and hope) that he can somehow renew the American
Dream. As
Vice President Biden declared in his 1988 presidential quest:
“Th e role
of a President in mobilizing our society is to convince all of our
citizens
that they can and must shape their own future and the nation’s
future”

(Dionne, Jr. 1987). If Obama can fulfi ll this vital role of the
presidency,
the American Dream will thrive. If not, the American Dream
will still
endure, in spite of our disappointments.
Th e historic economic, political, and social times of this period
in
the twenty-fi rst century is the context in which we provide an
examina-
tion of the American Dream. In the pages that follow, experts
from mul-
tiple disciplines provide insight into the nature and resilience of
the
American Dream in this time frame, with a special focus on the
millen-
nial recession and the election of President Obama. Th e
discussion
begins with “Twilight’s Gleaming: Th e American Dream and
the Ends
of Republics,” in which American Studies expert James Cullen
provides
historical insight into the American Dream by drawing parallels
with
the Roman republic and empire. Cullen argues that many of the
most
cherished aspects of the American Dream, such as upward
mobility,
have clear antecedents in other civilizations. Th e next two
chapters pro-
vide a political critique of the American Dream. Historian
Michael
Kimmage’s chapter (“Th e Politics of the American Dream,
1980 to
2008”) examines the Depression, the New Deal, and party
platforms

to reveal the optimism and enthusiasm for particular versions of
the
American Dream in the United States. Political scientist John
White’s
chapter on “Th e Presidency and the Making of the American
Dream”
also notes historical variation in the Dream in his examination
of the
American presidency as a place where the American Dream has
become
personifi ed. Sociologists Jim Loewen and Sandra Hanson
provide insight
into racial and gender variation in the American Dream in the
next
two chapters. In his chapter (“Dreaming in Black and White”)
Loewen
examines race-based residential segregation and the Dream of
two sepa-
rate Americas. Hanson (“Whose American Dream? Gender and
the
American Dream”) uses a series of public opinion polls on the
Ameri-
can Dream to show how achievement of and attitudes toward the
Amer-
ican Dream vary for men and women. American political
pollster John
Zogby’s chapter (“Want Meets Necessity in the New American
Dream”)
compiles decades of public opinion polling data to reveal the
nature and
strength of the American Dream with a consideration of

generational
diff erences, the impact of September 11, the economic
downturn, and
the Obama presidency. Sociologist William D’Antonio provides
a Cath-
olic refl ection on the role of religion in defi ning the Dream
and making
it achievable for all. In the conclusion (“Th e American Dream:
Where
Are We?”), the editors reveal the complexity of the American
Dream
using sociological, political, and historical frames of reference.
Th ey
fi nd that although evidence of the Dream’s continued existence
is abun-
dant, its meaning has been altered and the Great Recession has
tem-
pered the Dream itself. Th is situation remains the case despite
the opti-
mism that came with the election of the fi rst African American
to the
presidency and Obama’s repeated attempts to instill public confi
dence.
Polls
CBS News/New York Times, poll, April 1–5, 2009. Text of
question: “Do you
think you will reach, as you defi ne it, ‘Th e American Dream’
in your lifetime,
or have you already reached it?” Already reached it, 44 percent;
will reach it
in my lifetime, 31 percent; will not reach it in my lifetime, 20
percent; don’t
know/no answer, 5 percent.

CBS News/New York Times, poll, January 14–17, 1985. Text of
question: “Do you
think that people who may never own a house miss out on an
important
part of the American Dream?” Yes, 76 percent; no, 19 percent;
don’t know/
no answer, 5 percent.
Gallup Organization/USA Today, poll, March 2, 2009. Text of
question: “Which
is closer to your view—if you work hard and play by the rules,
you will be
able to achieve the American Dream in your lifetime, or even by
working
hard and playing by the rules, the American Dream is
unattainable for you?”
If you work hard and play by the rules, you will be able to
achieve the Amer-
ican Dream in your lifetime, 72 percent; even by working hard
and playing
by the rules, the American Dream is unattainable for you, 25
percent; don’t
know, 2 percent; refused, 1 percent.
Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research and Public Opinion
Strategies, poll, Janu-
ary 27–February 8, 2009. Text of question: “Th inking about
young people,
do you think it will be easier or harder for them to achieve the
American
Dream?” Much easier, 13 percent; somewhat easier, 21 percent;

somewhat
harder, 30 percent; much harder, 29 percent; about the same
(volunteered),
3 percent; don’t know/refused, 3 percent.
Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation/Washington Post/Harvard
University, poll,
June 18–July 7, 2008. Text of question: “I’d like to talk to you
now about a
term with which you are probably familiar: the American
Dream. How close
are you to achieving the American Dream—are you very close,
somewhat
close, somewhat far, or very far?” Very close, 8 percent;
somewhat close,
35 percent; somewhat far, 27 percent; very far, 23 percent;
already achieved
it (volunteered), 4 percent; don’t know what that is
(volunteered), 1 percent;
don’t know, 2 percent.
Opinion Research Corporation, poll, October 13–15, 2006. Text
of question: “Do
you agree or disagree: Th e American Dream has become
impossible for
most people to achieve?” Agree, 54 percent; disagree, 45
percent; don’t
know/undecided/refused, 2 percent.
Penn, Schoen, and Berland Associates, poll, June 19–29, 2008.
Text of question:
“I’m going to read you some possible defi nitions or
descriptions of the
American Dream, and for each one I’d like you to tell me if
that’s very much
what you understand the American Dream to mean, or sort of

what it means,
or not what it means. . . . To own a home.” Very much, 79
percent; sort of,
18 percent; not, 3 percent; don’t know, 1 percent.
Text of question:
“Is it likely your children will achieve the American Dream?”
Yes, 69 per-
cent; no, 20 percent; don’t know/no answer, 10 percent.
Text of question:
“Which is closer to your view? I have set goals for my life that
once reached
will mean that I have achieved the American Dream. Th e
American Dream
is a never-ending pursuit [and] I can always do more to achieve
it.” I have set
goals for my life that once reached will mean that I have
achieved the Amer-
ican Dream, 13 percent; the American Dream is a never-ending
pursuit
[and] I can always do more to achieve it, 84 percent; don’t
know/no answer,
3 percent.
Roper Organization, poll, November 1938. Text of question:
“Do you believe
there should be a top limit of income and that anyone getting
over that limit
should be compelled to turn the excess back to the Government
as taxes?”
Yes, 30 percent; no, 61 percent; don’t know, 9 percent.

Time/Abt SRBI, poll, April 1–5, 2009. Text of question:
“People sometimes talk
about the American Dream, that is the ability of all Americans
to achieve
their goals in life through hard work. Would you say that it’s
going to be
easier or harder for Americans to achieve the American Dream
in ten years
than it is today, or that things won’t change much?” Easier, 13
percent;
harder, 57 percent; won’t change much, 24 percent; no
answer/don’t know,
5 percent.
Wall Street Journal, poll, October 1986. Text of question: “I’m
going to read you
some possible defi nitions or descriptions of the American
Dream, and for
each one I’d like you to tell me if that’s very much what you
understand the
American Dream to mean, or sort of what it means, or not what
it means. . . .
To be able to get a high school education.” Very much, 84
percent; sort of,
11 percent; not, 4 percent.
Zogby International, poll, May 12–14, 2008. Text of question:
“Do you believe
that the American Dream is as attainable today as it was eight
years ago?”
Yes, 24 percent; no, 75 percent; not sure, 2 percent.
References

Adams, J. T. 1941. Th e epic of America. Garden City, NY:
Blue Ribbon Books.
Alter, J. 2006. Th e defi ning moment: FDR’s hundred days and
the triumph of hope.
New York: Simon and Schuster.
Chesterton, G. K. 1922. What I saw in America. New York:
Dodd, Mead.
Dionne, E. J., Jr. 1987. Biden, off ering a 1988 vision, says
American Dream is
evaporating. New York Times, May 15.
Ehrenreich, B. 2005. Bait and switch. New York: Metropolitan
Books, Henry
Holt.
Fox, J. 2009. Nope, no jobs here. October 2. Message posted to
http://curious
capitalist.blogs.time.com/2009/10/02.nope-no-jobs-here.
Hart, M. 1959. Act one: An autobiography. New York: Random
House.
Jillson, C. 2004. Pursuing the American Dream: Opportunity
and exclusion over
four centuries. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas.
Kamp, D. 2009. Rethinking the American Dream. Vanity Fair,
April. Available at
www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2009/04/american-
dream200904.
Lane, R. 1962. Political ideology: Why the common man
believe what he does. New
York: Free Press.

Malcolm, A. H. 1987. What fi ve families did aft er losing the
farm. New York
Times, February 4.
Moen, P., and P. Roehling. 2005. Th e career mystic: Cracks in
the American Dream.
Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefi eld.
Obama, B. 2006. Th e audacity of hope: Th oughts on
reclaiming the American
Dream. New York: Crown Publishers.
———. 2008. Acceptance speech. Democratic National
Convention, Denver,
Colorado, August 28.
———. 2009. Inaugural address. Washington, D.C., January 20.
Reich, E. 1904. Success among the nation. New York: Harper.
Roosevelt, F. D. 1936. Acceptance speech. Democratic National
Convention,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, June 27. Available at
www.2austin.cc.tx.us/
1patrick/his2341/fdr36acceptancespeech.htm.
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recession? New
York Times, May 8.
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York: Alfred A.

Knopf.
White, J. K. 1990. Th e new politics of old values. Hanover,
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New America
“The American Dream”
By Rachel Fishman
2017
{To view the graphs in this article, use the list of links to
readings}
Findings by Generation
Despite the recession being officially over and unemployment
the lowest it has been since 2007, the recovery has been felt
unevenly. Barry Ritholtz in Bloomberg View explained why
Americans hate the recovery from the Great Recession: many
people are still unemployed or underemployed, and any wage
increases have mostly been wiped away by escalating housing
and healthcare costs.
It is unsurprising, therefore, that our survey shows that
Americans believe the American Dream—from finding a well-
paying job to supporting a family—is becoming more difficult
to attain compared to their parents. Overall, 60 percent of
respondents said that it is more difficult to find a well-paying
job compared to their parents. The exception is the Silent
Generation (ages 72 and over), whose parents grew up during
the Great Depression.
This pattern also holds true when respondents are asked if it is
becoming harder to afford a family than in previous
generations. Overall, 64 percent of Americans believe it has
become more difficult. In stark contrast, only 40 percent of the

Silent Generation agrees.
Only about half of Americans (51 percent) believe that there are
lots of well-paying jobs that do not require a college degree.
Members of Generation X, who are in their prime earning years,
are the least likely Americans to believe there are lots of well-
paying jobs that do not require a college degree.
And while Americans are split on whether or not there are well-
paying jobs available without a college degree, there is wide
agreement (75 percent) that it is easier to be successful with a
degree than without. Generation Z, which is just entering higher
education or the workforce, overwhelmingly believes this to be
the case (84 percent agree).
About half of Americans believe society respects those with a
college degree more than those without. For the younger
generations, this is especially the case: only 37 percent of
Generation Z, 32 percent of Millennials, and 35 percent of
Generation X believe that American society respects those who
have not gone to college.
Findings by Race and Ethnicity
Following the 2016 presidential election, an analysis by Jeff
Guo of the Washington Post’s Wonkblog revealed that while
white working-class voters helped Donald Trump win the
presidency, his victory is not connected to any actual decline in
their economic mobility over the past four years. As it turns
out, according to Guo, Trump outperformed Hillary Clinton in
areas that have been in economic decline for years, places
where unemployment was a little higher and median incomes
were a little lower than the national average.
Our data, which were gathered right after the Trump
inauguration, reflected this anxiety. White Americans were
more likely to say in the survey that it is harder to find a well-

paying job than it was for their parents (62 percent), compared
to African Americans (56 percent), Asians (48 percent), and
Hispanics (57 percent). Whites were also more likely to say that
it is getting harder to afford a family (71 percent), than African
Americans (55 percent), Asians (49 percent), and Hispanics (66
percent).
This is unsurprising, given that familial history across the past
two generations will be different for different ethnic groups.
For example, a recent Hispanic immigrant might see current
prospects as better than his parents’ prospects. An African
American Baby Boomer might see her prospects as better than
the pre-Civil Rights prospects of her parents.
Regardless of race, however, at least three out of four people
think it is easier to be successful with a college degree than
without.

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