The American Dream

“The American Dream”

A Narrow Path to Success





“The American Dream” has eventually become an old concept which descends from the time with Henry Ford and Rockefeller and Carnegie who where among the very first to epitomize “The American Dream”. Way back in the 1870’s as the oil industry and the development of motor engines started growing those people saw an opportunity in the industry and managed to benefit of it. Later on they were known as the personification of the American Dream. The fact that they started from scratch and became successful has certainly been the major reason that they have acquired that status and started the concept “The American Dream”.



There are many definitions of the American Dream, and they have certainly changed as the time has passed the recent two centuries. Some might mean that the American Dream is to become extremely rich, famous and powerful, criteria only the fewest can achieve. On the other hand many would say that the American Dream simply is to establish a family with wife, children who can go to school and a decent residence. However some might put in further criteria which would be that you have to start out by very poor circumstances. So as you probably had already figured, the definition does change indeed depending on whom you ask and where you ask.  



Nevertheless the inventor of the particular meaning of the phrase “The American Dream” was the American author Horatio Alger Jr. (1832-1899) who wrote “rag-to-riches” stories in several dime novels in which he described in fictive progresses how boys managed to achieve the American Dream by determination and courage. By then his novels encouraged many people to start working hard in order to chase that dream.



“The Declaration of Independence” by Thomas Jefferson in 1776 was the very first step to a huge Liberal society in America and all the spirit and foundation of The United States lies within...