“The American Dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. It is a difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret adequately, and too many of us ourselves have grown weary and mistrustful of it. It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position.”
This is one way to define the American dream. There are many others. Across American history, from the Declaration of Independence to DACA (the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals or “Dreamers”), people both here and abroad have debated what values, beliefs, and expectations make up what it means to be an American.
American Dreamscape is a biographical research and writing assignment that culminates in a class digital project that will allow each student to provide one piece of the “puzzle” that is the American Dream. History is about people, and this project places people at the center of our class.