The development of the American automobile industry is one of the best examples of this interplay: "Unlike European manufacturers, who concentrated on expensive motorcars for the rich, American entrepreneurs early turned to economical vehicles that could be mass-produced," (Jackson 159). The fact that so many Americans then became capable of purchasing a car both fed the notion of the American dream, and also served to expand American cities and suburbs; people who could afford to commute were not forced to live in the stifling and often impoverished inner-city. This trend tended to make inner cities in America decreasingly desirable places to live. Yet, in places like New York, with the creation of central park, wealthy neighborhoods came to crowd around such desirable locations and push the impoverished sects of society away: "By the time the park's founding generation passed away, the political, aesthetic, and cultural unity they valued had already fragmented," (Rosenzweig 374). Essentially, the profit-driven nature of the American economy served to bring about new inequalities in places where equality and opportunities for the masses had been the original purpose. The most pervasive of these emergent ideologies shaping the landscape of America is the notion of the American dream. The American dream essentially signifies the notion that hard work and determination can eventually provide anyone with what they desire for survival -- through it, the United States is the land of opportunity. America is one of the first places in the history of civilization in which the concept that everyone can make something of themselves has been prevalent -- that an individual can start with nothing, and end up with everything through diligence and determination. In fact, the promises of equal opportunity and upward mobility are some of the most significant reasons why Europeans and Asians migrated to America in the first place. These notions, however, were at most theoretical. In reality, numerous limitations obstruct acquisition of the American dream from multiple angles. For this reason, the history of the United States, largely, can be characterized as a gradual and continual battle to force...
The American dream symbolizes this American mentality, but it also stands as a barrier to its fulfillment. The dream has established a cultural attitude that justifies the status quo, and lends credibility to the successes or failures of the individual: it makes the individual the only one responsible for their successes or failure. However, inherent restraints upon success are evident in America -- in the demographics of our jobs, the configuration of our government, and the nature of our educational system. These structural restraints tend to also support the status quo, and additionally, amplify its consequences. The perpetual survival of inequality in the United States makes the question of whether or not it has lived up to its expectations is an almost unquestionable "no." Nevertheless, undeniable strides have been made in the direction of equality.
American Expansion Post-Reconstruction America gave rise to an incredibly transformative society and culture. Modernism was beginning to sweep the land with the industrial revolution, urbanization and westward expansion. How did the underprivileged fare in this new America? What were the experiences and problems of the Native Americans, women, African-Americans, and various immigrant groups at this time? Be specific. Was there a gap between the rhetoric of hope and democracy peddled by
The United States of America's foreign policy has mirrored its influence and power within the international community. As a small and weak nation, America was forced to employ a regional foreign policy, limited to the North American continent. But as the U.S. grew into a powerful industrialized nation, its foreign policy began to change to include more international issues. Finally, as a result of the need for the United States
American History The Reconstruction exacerbated the regional differences between the northern and southern states. The exact conflicts that led to the Civil War in the first place remained for decades after General Lee surrendered at Appomattox, and shortly after President Lincoln was shot dead. The Reconstruction project illuminated the still-existing conflicts between Lincoln's successor Andrew Johnson and the Republican congress. Johnson attempted to straddle the fence and simultaneously appease the South
American Culture America is the land of contradictions: fast-food restaurants with low-carb menus; prefabricated pizza parlors next to organic juice stands; "Trading Spouses" and "Trading Spaces." With an income disparity as large as most third-world nations, the United States has clearly become a land of contrasts. Nowhere was this contrast as clearly visible as in the last presidential election. Perhaps more than any other in recent history, the 2004 results elucidated
American History Final Exam Stages of the American Empire Starting in the colonial period and continuing up through the Manifest Destiny phase of the American Empire in the 19th Century, the main goal of imperialism was to obtain land for white farmers and slaveholders. This type of expansionism existed long before modern capitalism or the urban, industrial economy, which did not require colonies and territory so much as markets, cheap labor and
..our troops behaved well, fighting with great spirit and bravery." Giving Washington too much credit would be a mistake, but he had a way of keeping his men on task. And yet, when Washington tried to get his troops to swear allegiance to the United States, "they refused...'New Jersey is our country!' they said stubbornly" (Bowen 7). Still, the relationships between the men who were outnumbered by the British was an
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