Introduction: Whither the “American Dream”?

Abstract

The phrase, “The American Dream” was coined by James Truslow Adams in his extremely popular 1931 book The Epic of America, and entered the language almost immediately – especially in political rhetoric.* Nowadays it is likely to be used in acceptance speeches, inaugural speeches; but it also appears frequently in book titles. Anthony Brandt has suggested that the phrase represents an American ideal of a happy and successful life to which all may aspire; coined during the Depression, the idea “represented a reaffirmation of traditional American hopes” Brandt . However, the idea if the not the phrase dates back to a much earlier period in American history – as witnessed, for instance, in De Tocqueville’s locution: “the charm of anticipated success”.