The American Dream is commonly envisioned as a land of opportunity where individuals can achieve success and fulfillment based on their abilities. Historically, it attracted many immigrants seeking a better life and was symbolized by the Statue of Liberty and the Declaration of Independence, promising equality and the pursuit of happiness. Over time, though, this dream has evolved, facing challenges as industrialization introduced more complex notions of success.

2. There is no one precise definition. However,
it is most often defined as
„the dream of a land in which life should bethe dream of a land in which life should be
better, richer, and fuller for every man withbetter, richer, and fuller for every man with
opportunities for each according to hisopportunities for each according to his
abilities and achievementabilities and achievement”.”.
J. T. Adams The Epic of America, 1931

3. - PLENTY
America as the land of plenty figured more
prominently in 18th and 19th century
definitions of the American Dream than it does
today. Central to the dream was the presence
of the (still untamed) American land, along
with the question how to deal with nature and
how to live with other people on the land.

6. - OPPORTUNITY
Early immigrants to the United States landed
on a lightly settled and undeveloped continent.
Until the end of the 19th century, the sheer
amount of land available for settlement, the
absence of a land-owning aristocracy, and
federal policies to encourage settlement meant
land ownership was within reach for many
immigrants.

8. - DESTINY
Spurred by the potato famines, the Highland
clearances in Scotland and the aftermath of the
Napoleonic Wars, impoverished Europeans
emigrated to America. Scandinavian and
German immigrants of the mid 1800s mainly
settled as farmers.

11. Jews fled religious persecution and mandatory military service in the late
19th and early 20th century Russian Empire. Asian Americans began crossing the
Pacific Ocean in the 19th century to find work.

12. The first American sight seen by immigrants
coming to America for a better life was the
Statue of Liberty. It is situated on Liberty
Island in New York harbour.

14. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning
to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your
teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless,
tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the
golden door!"

16. THE DECLARATION
OF INDEPENDENCE,
1776
We hold these truths to
be self-evident, that all
men are created equal, that
they are endowed by their
Creator with certain
unalienable Rights, that
among these are Life,
Liberty and the persuit of
Happiness.

18. MARTIN LUTHER KING J & CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT

19. „(…) 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! (…)”
fragment from Martin Luther King’s speech
on August 28, 1963

20. Traditionally, Americans have sought to
realise the American dream of success, fame
and wealth through thrift and hard work. The
key to success was the motto by Benjamin
Frankin:
„Early to bEd, and Early to risE,Early to bEd, and Early to risE,
makEs a man hEalthy, wEalthy and wisE.”makEs a man hEalthy, wEalthy and wisE.”

21.  Germany-born
immigrant made a
success when he started
to sell tough work clothes
in 1853.

22. HENRY FORD
By creating the first car to be
produced in great numbers he
started the American persuit of a
CAR – a symbol of prosperity
and freedom

23. However,
the industrialisation
of the 19th and 20th
centuries began to
erode the dream,
replacing it with a
philosophy of "get
rich quick".

24. BILL GATES
„We are always saying to ourselves. We have to innovate. We got to
come up with that breakthrough.”

26. ARNOLD
SCHWARZENEGGER
„I was born in a little Austrian
town. When I was ten, I had the
dream of being the best in the world
in something. At the age of twenty
I became Mr. Universe. I won the
title five times consecutively.
Also, my dream was to end up
in America…. It is the country
where you can turn your dreams
into reality (…)”
A. Schwarzenegger,
Gubernator of California

28. MADALEINE ALBRIGHT - The first female US Secretary of
State and the highest ranking
woman in the history of the US
government
Born in Czechslovakia
in 1937 in a Jewish
family of diplomats
emigrated to the US in
search of freedom,
education opportunities
and proffesional
development in 1948.

29. Born in Germany, the young
Einstein was dissatisfied with the
restrictive schools in Germany. At the age
of 16 he moved to Switzerland. In 1905 he
published five papers, including the
“Special theory of Relativity” which
considered motion and the speed of light.
The devastation of World War I caused
Einstein to become an active pacifist. In
1916 he published his “General Theory of
Relativity,” a concept of a curved universe
and its affect on light. In 1922 he won the
Nobel Prize for Physics. While visiting
America in 1933 the Nazi party came to
power in Germany and Einstein
renounced his German citizenship for a
second time. He chose to stay in America,
accepting a position at Princeton
University.

31. On January 20, 2009 Barack Obama
became the 44th President of the United States and
the 1st Afro-American to be elected president
He was born on 4 August, 1961 in
Hawaii. His father was Kenyan and his mother had
English, Irish and Indian roots. His father died in
an accident. After his mother rremarried, he spent
four years in Jakarta attending a local school. In
1971 he returned to Honolulu to continue
education. In 1983 he graduated from Columbia
University NYC where he majored in political
studies. In 1991 he graduated from Harvard Law
School. For 12 years he was a professor of Chicago
Law School.
In 1996 he was elected to the Illinois
Senate. In 2008 presidential campain Barack
defeated John McCain. During the campain he
became known as an exceptional orator with his
well-recognisable phrases: „The Change We Need”
or „Yes, We Can”.

32. Try to use your own words to explain how
you understad the American Dream.

34. America in Close-up,E. Fiedler, R. Jansen. Pearson Education, 2007
Oxford Guide to British and American Culture, J. Crowther. OUP,2000
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