The American Dream In The 1920s

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“The term “American Dream” first was used by the American historian James Truslow Adams in his book “The Epic of America” published in 1931”(America Day Dreamer, 1). The American Dream became popular in the 1930s and has been used over many years and throughout decades. Many people have had different views on what the American Dream really is. “For a lot of people the American Dream is connected to becoming wealthy and the ability to achieve everything if one only works hard enough for it(Rags to riches)” (America Day Dreamer, 2). Having wealth and being successful was many people’s dream throughout their life. Others simply strived for happiness and a fulfilling life. Though the American Dream is in fact real, many people have struggled to…show more content…
“ The nation’s wealth more than doubled between 1920 and 1929, and this economic growth swept many Americans into an affluent but unfamiliar consumer society” (Roaring twenties, 2). Not only were the 1920s an age of economic change, but also of dramatic political and social change (Roaring twenties, 2). As wealth swept over America for many, pride in many racial classes and cultures had begun to blossom. African Americans became one of the most known races whose pride in their ways and their culture grew tremendously. Thousands of African Americans had begun to migrate from the South to the North during this time period in hope for finding better jobs, lifestyles, and more equal treatment. A time shaped by the Great Migration, known as the Harlem Renaissance, became a period of cultural renewal among African Americans (Harlem Renaissance, 1). “The Great Migration of African Americans from the Southern countryside to Northern cities and the increasing visibility of black culture - jazz and blues music, for example, and the literary movement known as the Harlem Renaissance - discomfited some white Americans” (Roaring twenties, 1). Although people respected African American culture, many didn’t approve. Segregation and discrimination were major things that shaped the American Dream of many. Many people of the white race believed power and wealth would be the reality to their dreams, while those of the black race had the dreams of freedom and equality. Though their dreams were different, efforts were continuously made from both races to accomplish these
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