The American Dream

The American Dream [?'m?rik?n 'dri|m] Structure: 1. Definition of the American Dream 2. Constitutional history of the United States 3. Martin Luther King: I have a Dream 4. The new American Dream 5. Result 6. Sources 1. Definition of the American Dream The American Dream is a complex term that covers all spheres of life in the American society. We connect this term with the principles of the American Declaration of Independence from 1776. These principles are freedom, individualism, diligence and strive for luck and fairness. The materialistic interpretation if the American Dream defines America as the land/country of the unlimited possibilities. Sometimes this term has an ironic meaning. This ironic meaning applies to the contrast between the principles and the materialistic attitude which predominates in the American society. 2. The American Dream in the history of the United Nations The myth of the foundation of the United States bases on the privileges of Columbus in 1492 and on the Mayflower-Compact in 1620. So the first time the American dream was dreamt was in the 17th century. The Mayflower-Compact means that Pilgrims left England on the Mayflower and landed near Cape Cod in Massachusetts. There they found Plimouth Plantation and so they were able to live with their own laws and rules. After 20 years 20 000 puritants followed to America. They wanted to bring the Christianity there. The people in America tried to find the balance between loyalty to the government and the independence in an own and western community. This was manifested in the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and later in the Federal Constitution in 1787/1789. Till the 19th century many immigrants came to America and the population grow. Many people wanted to start a new life in America and to be far away from their native country. 3. Martin Luther King: I have a dream On August 28th 1963 Martin Luther King hold a speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial at the famous demonstration for Civil Rights in Washington D. C. Quotation: I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation. Fivescore years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity. But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free; one hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination; one hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity; one hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself in exile in his own land. So weve come here today ...