So recently, we looked at some articles about the Oklahoma land runs and the Trail of Tears, and I started thinking about the cost of the American Dream. Not necessarily the literal value like I did with Yahoo Finance, more so the actions made towards whatever the goal is. That’s a price that’s changed vastly throughout America’s history, so I suppose I’ll document what I can with the texts we’ve covered thus far.
First came the founding of the United States, and to that extent the founding of the American Dream. After many abuses and restrictions from the British crown, the colonies sought to detach themselves from the corrupt government. They wanted freedom, they wanted independence, even the Declaration says it best: “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” And what did that freedom cost them? Seven years of war against the British, plus a considerable debt to the countries that helped them win. Considering the state of America in today’s day and age, I’d wager that was a fair trade, and probably the greatest moral victory for the American Dream.
Years later, America came up with the idea of manifest destiny – the idea that country would span from coast to coast, and that this growth was inevitable and just. That being said, their main obstacle was the Native Americans residing in the west, blocking their expansion. The government had to meet the demands of the people, so they enacted the Indian Removal Act, a forced move of the tribes living next to the United States to the Oklahoma territory. The path these unfortunate natives took would soon be known as the Trail of Tears. Around this time, the American Dream was owning property and seeking individual success, and the cost was the livelihood of thousands of Native Americans.
Moving on to the 20th century, after aforementioned manifest destiny was achieved, the people of America founded a new American Dream based on material gain and financial success, inspired by titans of industry like John Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie. Most Americans thought that the path to success was paved with hard work and years of dedication, though a few foreigners saw an alternative path. People like Al Capone and Lucky Luciano saw the success of these rich and powerful figures and looked into getting a slice of success themselves. The only difference between the working men of America (who they would coin as “suckers”) was their idea and willingness to take from others instead of just working for themselves. Even at the risk of lifelong imprisonment and potential death, some of these criminals found their own success. Overall, the cost of the American Dream around this time was either a life of labor or a life of crime, both for the same goal of money.
And lastly, we have modern America, where we’ve crafted a picture of comfortable living as the American Dream, and now it exists beyond our reach. $3.4 million as estimated by Moneywise by the end of 2023, well above the average American’s pay across their whole lifespan. There is the alternative view of living as an individual, to which anyone and everyone can achieve so long as they can make a reasonable living. It’s a matter of perspective in the end, I suppose.
If there is a point to this blog, it’s that the American Dream always has a price behind it, be it moral or physical. And whatever that price may be, it’s never cheap. Could be a major factor as to why people refute the dream in the first place, the fact that the American Dream is beyond reach, or at least excessively steep.
Sources: [Financial costs of the American Revolutionary War] | [The Opening of Oklahoma] | [American Values and Organized Crime] | [$3.4 Million American Dream]
Cover: MARELBU, CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons