Opposition To The American Dream

In Opposition to the “American Dream”

Throughout the history of the United States, the definition of the iconic tenet, the American dream, has remained a relative constant: that with hard work and determination, any American citizen, regardless of background or disadvantage, can achieve anything they truly desire. However, the outrageously exalted philosophy has been, and always will be, a tragically falsified and laughably chimerical image. With the passage of time, the American dream has become increasingly difficult and unrealistic for the average American to attain. It is this difficulty that has manifested itself throughout American history and literature since the philosophy's inception, and has become precisely the reason why the
Following the War of 1812, nativism - the policy of protecting the interests of native inhabitants against those of immigrants – within the United States experienced a dramatic increase as overall patriotism increased (so much so that the first 4th of July celebration took place). Gradually, the United States was gaining its own niche in the global stage and economy, and, for better or worse, the adjective “American” was steadily acquiring connotations and definitions from across the world. Partly due to this nativism and, arguably, growing xenophobia, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882 (Alan Brinkley, American History: A Survey, 563). The Act banned Chinese immigration into the United States for ten years (although this was actually made permanent in 1902 before the Act's ultimate repeal in 1943) and barred Chinese already in the country from becoming naturalized citizens, thus harming a Chinese immigrant's chances at achieving the American dream or any amount of prosperity in America. Combined with language barriers that were already existent between Chinese and Americans, the Act duly contributed to the notion that a “Chinese American” was a preposterous idea, let alone the idea that said Chinese American would achieve any degree of prosperity at all. Even today, immigrants in the United States still face obstacles and disadvantages in their struggles for the American dream. In her article pleading that Americans work together for the improvement of immigrants' lives by making American values something that everyone can live by, Hyun-Joo Lee makes the point that the “American dream is not a dream at all. A dream is available to all.” In a society like America that is so anti-immigration, the American dream is made constantly harder to attain for immigrants every day,