American Dream Prompt

This essay is a definition essay revolving around the topic of the American Dream. The first priority is defining what the American dream means. The American dream is a subjective idea, and you will want to narrow down your definition to one specific idea. For example, your definition of this dream might be owning a house, finding a lucrative job, or being debt free. Please avoid topics on gun rights, education, or immigration as these topics are covered in other essays for our class.

This essay will be arranged in the following structure. You will begin with an introduction. The second paragraph will provide your definition of the American dream. The next two body paragraphs must address whether not your definition of the American dream is still possible. Lastly, you will need a conclusion. Essentially, you will need a total of five body paragraphs. I will grade your essay on the key elements of academic writing: a strong thesis (three-point preferred), topic sentences, transitions, etc.

Furthermore, the essay will need to reach at least three pages total. will also need a total of four sources minimum, and each all three body paragraphs should have at least one source. Also, will need to make sure that the paper adheres to MLA and standards and that you provide citations.

Lastly, please avoid first person in this essay.

American Dream Sample Thesis and Second Paragraph

Below I have provided a sample of an American Dream thesis and second paragraph. ; however, you can look at how the thesis structure and how the second paragraph incorporates early and modern history with this paragraph.

It’s very important to show American history in terms of defining the American dream as this will provide evidence that this has been an American dream for a long time. Also, you do not need to write as much information as the second paragraph you see here (it’s over kill); however, you can use it as an example.

The American dream is historically defined as attaining massive amounts of wealth; however, this dream has become more difficult to fulfill with income taxes and vast amounts of credit card debt.

The American dream has historically centered on the idea of attaining as much wealth as possible. Christopher Columbus sailed to American shores dreaming of filling the Nina, the Pinta, and Santa Maria with endless amounts of gold. This dream did not end with Columbus. On our own gold coast of California, forty-niners sacrificed everything they owned to mine million dollar dreams, and most came up short. In fact, Historically, all of the gold found in the world to this day would only fill up two and a half olympic-sized swimming pools, (Fontevecchia). Gold, the allusive dream, has left land ruined, people murdered, and miners out of luck. However, the American dream, in the 19th century, changed from plundering land and people, to obtaining immense cash, property, and industry through moral means. This dream was based on the concept of being a good person, working hard, and having luck. Perhaps it was Andrew Carnegie who instilled the Can-Do mentality that fed writers like Horatio Alger and Charles Dickens. Carnegie, born a poor orphan, later became one of the wealthiest people in the world with a system built on the merit that hard work pays off, and with this mentality, instead of digging for gold, he built empires of steel. America was built on the backs of the steel laborer, especially during a time when railroads and trains ran from the Atlantic to the Pacific (Andrews). Although the quest differed from gold to steel, the fundamental dream remained–gain as much wealth as humanly possible. The dreams fathomed from Carnegie and Melon drifted into the 20th century and remained flowing before and after the Great Depression, where steel railroads were slowly replaced with asphalt highways and Henry Fords American automobile. Wealth at this time did not stem from gold or steel–it amounted to stacks of cash. Paper money became a major innovation during this time whereas previously metal coin controlled the business world for centuries. During WWI and WWII, the metal for coin was needed for war machines; in this era the United States even made pennies out of nickel as copper became a scarce commodity (Hughes). In essence, cash became king. However, where our nation went astray from this dream occurred in the 1970s, when Richard Nixon took the dollar off of the gold standard–the green was no longer backed by that historical gold. With this move, we saw the inflation and the depreciation of the American dollar that haunted many administrations from Jimmy Carter, to Reagan, to George W. Bush, and Obama–the dollar no longer had the same value as it did in our fathers time. Furthermore, the American dream wealth, which transcended from gold, to steel, to cash, now became accessible via plastic. Credit card debt first became a mainstay in America in the 1980s (Credit History). While today plastic might discourage us from fulfilling our dreams, we live in a world where immense wealth is less possible even though Bill Gates, Donald Trump, and Warren Buffet are concessions to this. Americans, living in the shadows of billionaires, still believe they too can become rich. According to Allen Jones, 60 percent of Americans today believe they will die wealthy. Many Americans are waking up today thinking about how they can have a higher income, and this dream is alive more than ever. However, what hinders this dream is taxes.

Here is a video that goes over how to write the thesis and 2nd paragraph:

post your American Dream thesis and second paragraph for your essay. In our modules, I’ve provided samples and videos on how to do this.

Your thesis must be one sentence long, and in it you must address what makes this dream possible or not. For example, you might use this template:

The American Dream is defined as ___________, and it is possible due to __________ and ___________.

Remember to narrow down your topics to something finite. Also, must provide two reasons for why this dream is possible or two reasons why it’s more difficult. Please do not say why it is possible and why it is not possible–take a strong stand on this.

Lastly, here is a video that goes over how to write the thesis and second paragraph

Para 1-Introduction-hook, overview, thesis

The American has been defined as _______and it’s (im)possible due to ______and _______.

Para 2-Show history of this specific dream.

Para 3-what makes this dream possible or not

Para 4-what makes this dream possible or not

Para 5-conclusion-restate the thesis-closing statement-why does your essay matter-why do you care and why should the reader care.

Four sources Three pages not including the works cited

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