The American Dream In Frank Leslie's 'The New Colossus'

The promise of America is also what those refer to as “The American Dream.” In other words, it is what foreigners believe will lead them to a “better life.” This includes jobs, housing, and the most significant, freedom. Freedom of speech, freedom of religion, etc. These more accessible opportunities is what makes “the dream” so enticing, so desired. This also means having their children, and the generations to come, grow up in an environment superior to that of which they would have grown up in before which is exactly the reason they have come all this way in search of “The Promise of America.”
From Frank Leslie’s illustration, one may safely assume that these are poor immigrants due to the fact that they are sailing on the steerage deck.
It refers to the lamp she clenches ever so confidently as the light beside the golden door. This “golden door” represents the beginning of a new life superior to how they were living prior to this journey. It is the “American Dream,” the “promise,” that is to be found within the walls of this “golden door.” This is precisely what these immigrants travel from afar in pursuit of. They are in search of what could likely be in store for them beyond this “golden door.” Lady Liberty is also titled “Mother of Exiles” in the poem. The use of “mother” in the name represents the gratifying welcome she presents to travelers. She served as a symbol of welcome to these impoverished immigrants as she took them in with open arms.
In President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s speech, he entitles America, the “New World.” It is called the new world because it is like nothing those immigrating to America have ever seen before. Freedom, good housing, better job opportunities, all new. This “promise” desired by many, is found in this “New World.” The president also shows that America lives up to the promise it is believed to keep. He states, “How well their hopes were justified is proved by the record of what they