Understanding the Origins and Development of the "American Dream": An Analysis of Jefferson and Franklin's Works I. Introduction: The concept of the “American dream” is generally defined as the opportunity to achieve success in America through hard work and individual merit without any obstacles and restrictions. Although there are many different interpretations of the “American dream,” this inspiring and unique notion of success is deeply rooted and indirectly developed through many famous literary works in the early revolutionary days of America. In the "Declaration of Independence" (1776), Thomas Jefferson powerfully argues for a separate American government, away from British tyranny, to protect the "inalienable rights" of the American people to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." This famous parallelism emphasizes the fact that anyone in America has the right to live, to be free, and to have opportunities to be happy, which has become an integral part of the definition of the "American dream." In addition, Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography (1793) provides a detailed account of the humble beginnings of Franklin's career as a printer in Philadelphia and emphasizes the importance of self-reliance, determination, and perseverance in the face of adversity, which definitely added to the concept of the "American dream." Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanac (1739) also contributed to the "American dream" idea through phrases such as "there are no gains without pains," as well as many other famous aphorisms. Thesis: Therefore, the concept of the "American dream" became clearly established and implicitly defined through the famous phrases such as "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" (in Jefferson's "Declaration of Independence") and "there are no gains without pains" (in Poor Richard's Almanac) and through the ideas of self-reliance, determination, and perseverance (in Franklin's Autobiography).
II. Body Paragraph 1: A. The famous phrase "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" in the "Declaration of Independence" greatly contributes to the concept of the "American dream" because it highlights the "self-evident truth" that the American people have the governmentprotected, "inalienable rights" to live, to be free, and to have the opportunities to be happy without the limitations or restrictions of a tyrannical government. B. This idea of the American people having the inherent rights to live and be free in order to achieve happiness was unique and revolutionary at the time because the British government unilaterally controlled the American colonies with unfair laws of taxation without representation, even to the point of occupying the colonies with British military forces to enforce the laws.
C. Supporting Evidence / Examples: 1. The "American dream" idea is deeply rooted in the "Declaration of Independence" because the right to live and be free for the pursuit of happiness is the essence of the "American dream." 2. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." 3. Jefferson argues for American independence from British tyranny by logically stating that the American people have right to establish their own government to protect their "inalienable rights" to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." D. Thus, the "Declaration of Independence" argued for the separation of the American colonies from British tyranny by establishing the rights of the American colonists to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," all of which lay the foundations of the concept of the "American dream." III. Body Paragraph 2: A. The famous aphorisms, "there are no gains without pains" and "diligence is the mother of good luck," in Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanac augment the concept of the "American dream" because these phrases emphasize the idea that, with hard-work, perseverance, and diligence, one can achieve success and happiness in America. B. The theme of overcoming adversity through diligence, hard-work, and perseverance is one of the central tenets of the "American dream," and this is clearly expressed in the aphorisms. C. Supporting Evidence / Examples: 1. "There are no gains without pains" - this means that one cannot achieve success or accomplish a task without some amount of sacrifice and hard-work. "Diligence is the mother of good luck" - this means that the harder one works, the more prepared one is for receiving good luck (ex. if one works hard, then one is more prepared for the fortunate chance to be promoted) D. The wisdom of hard-work, diligence, and perseverance from the aphorisms in Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanac adds to the concept of the "American dream." IV. Body Paragraph 3: A. The anecdotes of Benjamin Franklin's humble beginnings to become a printer and successful businessman in America (as described in the Autobiography) highlight the themes of self-reliance, determination, and perseverance, which are pertinent to a better understanding of the "American dream." B. Self-reliance, determination, and perseverance in the face of adversity enabled
Franklin to reach Philadelphia and pursue his goals of being a successful printer, and the morality of this and many other anecdotes of Franklin's successful life illustrates the "American dream." C. Supporting Evidence / Examples: 1. In the excerpt from Franklin's The Autobiography, Franklin vividly describes, in particular detail, his early beginnings and employment with his older brother in Boston and his journey to Philadelphia in search for a new printing job. After receiving "tyrannical treatment" from his brother (his brother would speak badly of Franklin to every other nearby potential employer) and the fact that his brother was imprisoned for a month, Franklin decided to head to New York with help of his friend Collins. Therefore, Franklin sold some of his books for little money and took a boat to New York to ask Mr. William Bradford for a printing job, but was finally directed to go to Philadelphia to help Mr. Bradford's son. Franklin set for Perth Amboy, New Jersey, landed on the island after a drenching and turbulent experience on the boat. Franklin experienced a fever, but drank much cold water and headed to Philadelphia on foot, stopping by at Dr. Brown's inn, an old lady's home, and finally Market Street wharf, where he meets Mr. Read and attended his Meeting House of the Quakers in the market. Therefore, although Franklin arrived in Philadelphia with little money, no job, and no place to live, he was not afraid to find his own way to get the printing job and to use any means possible to make ends meet. 2. Franklin emphasizes the importance of self-reliance because he believes that the American spirit of individualism and freedom will drive the American people to be hardworking, determined, and resilient. Self-reliance was particularly important for Franklin because, when he faced the difficult situation of having little money, no job, and no place to live, he did not succumb to negativity and give up. Instead, he relied on his social and business skills to get a printing job with another rival printer Keimer and establish his own printing business in Philadelphia after learning English printing methods in England. 3. Self-reliance is central to the "American dream" because the ability to be independent and think on our own allows us to be proactive in finding our own opportunities (new jobs) and to be creative in our pursuit for success and happiness in America. By relying on ourselves, we are more responsible, have more control of our lives, and ultimate develop a sense of resiliency and creativity to help us achieve success and happiness. D. Thus, Franklin's Autobiography greatly contributes to the concept of the "American dream" because it focuses on the ideas of self-reliance, determination, and
perseverance.
