美国梦的历史进程

“美国梦”的历史进程字数：4256 字号:大中小Abstract:This paper is designed to disclose the history of the American Dream: the two versions of the American Dreaminitiatedby the early immigrants, that is : the religious version of the Dream and the quest for wealth; the legacy of the Enlightenment movement and the two great architects of American culture produced by the movement: Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, who initiated respectively the pragmatism and the democratic ideal of the Dream; the devotion of transcendentalism headed by the chief spokesman of transcendentalism——Ralph Waldo Emerson to the American Dream and the final Withering of the Dream.Key Words:the American dream; the secular dream; the political ideal; transcendentalism“The American Dream”is one of the essential elements for people to know the American culture and the American people. This paper is designed to disclose the history of the American Dream.However, What’s “the American Dream”? There is no definite definition. Different people have different understanding and interpretation. In its broad sense, it refers to the ideal of a nation such as democracy、equality and freedom; while in its narrow sense, it refers to the pursuit of individuals to obtain success of life on their own initiative. “The American Dream”embraces nearly all higher American ideals: the religious ideal of a model nation, the secular desire for affluence, the political ideal of a democratic country and the dream of both material and spiritual advancement. In real life, it includes everything that is related to a happy life ——a good education, a happy marriage, lovely children, good health, an expensive car and an extravagant house, etc. A song named “the American Dream”gives vivid expression of the Dream. It goes like this: “The American Dream, sweet as a millionaire”,“the American Dream, busboys can buy the hotels”and“the American Dream, come and get more than your share”. According to the song, success is within the reach of everyone who strives for it. Essentially, “the American Dream”is a confident belief as well as an optimistic desire for perfection by means of progress.Since the first settlers landed on the new continent, this idealized land has been characterized with dreams. The newly discovered world entitled a Carnival of European fantasies, it meant the fabled land of gold. “The infant world”also represented another chance, perhaps the last one, to lay the foundation of a better society, to build anew the new city of man, and to fulfil what the old civilization had failed to accomplish.The American Dream embodies the American spirit. The early immigrants, who risked their lives in crossing the dangerous ocean and settling down on a savage land, they sought for nothing but either of the two versions of the American Dream:the religious freedom and the secular dream of wealth. The dream seekers includedthe first group of English religious dissidents——Puritans, they came to America to escape the religious persecution from the church of England. The intact New World seemed to them an ideal place to enjoy freedom of worship, to realize the religious dream and to fulfil the holy mission assigned by God. The puritans, represented by Winthrop, regarded themselves as God’s “peculiar people”and felt a compelling obligation to battle with the impurities of the world They believed that they were new bread of humans, destined “to begin the world over again”and “to build a land here that will be for all mankind a shining city on ahill”(Winthrop, P.88). By migrating to America, they sought to fulfil their holy mission, that is: to create a model nation for the rest of the world to learn. Puritans worked very hard, not only for profit or social betterment, but also at God’s “calling”. They thought thegreat sin in their society was to live without a “calling”, without being industrious at anything. They emphasized self-improvement. To them the achievement of material success is one of the most widely accepted forms of self-improvement in America. Puritans drove themselves and their society to tremendous height of achievement both materially and spiritually. They contributed a lot to the American Dream.The Puritans made lasting contribution to the American Dream. Firstof all, they invented the myth of America. Puritans raised America as the youngest and loveliest of Christ’s brides ——he last, best hope of mankind. It was to be a model nation, “a city upon a hill”, and a beacon to illustrate the darkness of the old world. Puritans also initiated the tradition of freedom, individualism and democracy in the American Dream. Their immigration to America was essentially motivated by the pursuit of religious freedom.Apart from Puritans, many other early immigrants came to America with the motivation of economic reasons. Most of them exertedthemselves in the struggle of conquering the wilderness merely to raise the material standard of living and improve their economic positions in life. By migrating to the New World, the poor found their situation totally changed. Good fertile land seemed limitless and almost free for taking. With such plenty of land and few people, there was unlimited opportunity. As settlements developed, people soon became aware of the money to be made on speculation on land. To posses more land, many people plunged into the backwoods to become the great pioneering race.The pioneers, foreveer marching towards new territories, with the belief that there were always plenty of gold and golden opportunities ahead to better their lives. Such a quest for affluence has since become a tradition and the secular connotation of the American Dream. Americans have joked about it, saying that “Money isn’t everything, it can’t buy happiness, but it certainly can finance the search for it.”The westward movement, lasted more than 2 centuries, helped to shape the American values. The pioneering spirit has been continuously sharpened and become a distinctive character of the nation. Besides, the golden-motivated migration to America has helped the growth of American beliefs such as individualism, self-reliance and equality of opportunity.Many of the early immigrants found that they have a better chance to succeed in America than in their native countries.American literature were full of convincing examples of self-made man such as Franklin, John D Rockfeller, etc, it made the Americans believe in the potential of their country and the final realization of their dreams. “The generosity of nature”of North America inevitably contributed a lot to thematerial affluence and the consequent optimism and confidence of the early immigrants.Till then, the American Dream gave people great satisfaction both materially and spiritually.In the late 17th and 18th centuries, the pattern of thought known as the Enlightenment became dominant in Europe. The apostles of the Enlightenment believed in science and reason and the perfection of man and the world. They no longer viewed the universe as a mystery only partially explained by divine revelation. They held that human nature is the result of environment rather than the predetermination of an arbitrary deity. To make it accord with reason and naturallaw, man could improve his own nature byimproving his environment through science and education. Thus the pessimistic belief in man’s total depravity and predestination was replaced by an optimistic new thought of man as capable of infinite perfectibility.The spirit of the Enlightenment came to America in the later half of the 18th century. It received a warm public recognition. People had come to America to be free from the authority and to realize a fuller life as individuals. They would rather believe that the New World has a future which human effort might shape. The Enlightenment, with its emphasis on reason rather than authority, its encouragement of science inquiry, and its almost childlike belief in the perfectibility of man and the world, to some extent, destroyed the Calvinistic conception of the earth as a vale of tears and suffering, and convinced people that they were the masted to the physical and spiritual needs of the colony. What’s more, the development of the new continent provided fertile soil for the growth of the ideas.Thomas Jefferson, an outstanding representative of the Enlightenment, established the political ideal of the American Dream. His democratic thought, best expressed in his “Declaration of Independence”and“The Bill of Rights”has profound and lasting influence on the American people and it has become the tradition and the national dream for the following generations. “Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”(P.45) of each individual, these are well-known words from his “Declaration of Independence”. He insisted that “all men are created equal”(P.45) and that all qualified citizens have “equal opportunity for material gain and political influence”(Patterson, P.4). Jefferson’s democratic thought was based on his belief that “the government governed least governed best”and his belief on the innate goodness of human nature. His democratic thought has profound and lasting influence on the American people and it has become the tradition and the national dream for the following generations. Among many of his doctrines, the most prominent are the principle of democracy, liberty and equality.The American Enlightenment, as the overwhelming spiritual movement in the 18th century, has strongly influenced the national culture, the most persistent legacy of it is the optimism of progress. Americans have a tendency to believe in progress, they like to make changes and believe that changes tend to be good. For the purpose of making changes and advancing themselves, they never fear of taking chances or staking out what they have.The Enlightenment has made a great contribution to the American Dream. Many of its ideals are still cherished by the people of today. With its emphasis on rationality, its strong demand for equality based on human rights, its faith in human progress, its belief in the goodness and perfectibility of men and its desire for social improvement, the Enlightenment has set a pattern for the world in the future.In the 1830’s and 40’s, industrialism grew vigorously in theUnited States. Opposing to the consequent materialism and worldliness that was transforming the nation, idealists launched the movement of transcendentalism.Transcendentalism glorifies the consciousness and will, encouragesindividualism and self- reliance, and advocates the democratic ideal of life. Born into America at the moment of an awakening of national consciousness, it also assumes an ardent nationalism.The chief spokesman of American transcendentalism was Ralph Waldo Emerson.Taking “the infinitude of the private man”as his lifelong motto, he glorified individual in respect to nature and redefined the American Dream in moral and spiritual senses through his advocacy of self-reliance, oversoul and transcendental individualismStrongly opposed to the material and undemocratic aspects of the American life, Transcendentalism played an important role inrescuing human spirit and mind from materialism and inequality and fostering an unique national culture. Emerson’s oversoul, self-reliance and transcendental individualism have been quite influential to the American way of life .Stimulated by the creed of “the infinitude of the private man”, Americans have worked very hard to go forward and upward, with incredible confidence in their potentiality and naive optimism towards future.The movement of the Enlightenment and Transcendentalism have great influence on the American culture. All the ideas and aspirations have become the tradition\ belief and pursuit of the American people and made up the integrated national ideal ——the American Dream. It also has great influence on the American society and life. The westward expansion, the gold rush in , the anti- slavery and the civil rights movements are all attempts to realize the Dream. With an unprecedented optimism and firm belief in the ultimate happiness, the Americans have engaged themselves vehemently in the strife for progress. Generations of Americans have contributed to the establishment of a new culture, and have continuously added their beliefs、desires、wishes and aspirations into the pursuit of the nation and thus come into the integrated national ideal and a distinctive culture——the American Dream.Aiming at those high ideals, Americans have worked very hard to make social progress and have become a wealthy nation. However, with the development of industry and the formation of capitalist monopoly, the tradition、the past、the mannered society and the uniqueness had all turned into bygones and capitalism became the American way. As the byproduct of industrial development and booming business, gradually appeared all the evils that plagued Europe. In a capitalist society like America, the flourish of capitalism was accompanied by more and more unsolvable problems. The untrammed pursuit of wealth, regardless of social justice, is destroying the fabric of a democratic society; political scandals and the growing spiritual poverty have made people increasingly aware of the disillusionment of the American Dream. The humilitating discrimination against blacks in America made a mockery of the so called equality. Blacks “are still sadly crippled by the chain of discrimination”. Martin Luther King’s dream is still a dream. The American society seemed to be daily raising in material, but the people were daily sinking into the abyss of spiritual poverty just as Richard Nixon said in his Inaugural Address “We find ourselves rich in goods, but ragged in spirit.”With a system of capitalism, the opportunity for the rise of the self-made man became less and less. Capitalist market required some firms to fail and “success often means stepping over others”. In the fierce competition for success, winners were few. As opportunities are insufficient to satisfy all dreamers, the problem of scarcity is sometimes devastating. For people living in American culture and always believe that success is within the reach of every one who strives for it, their expectations have been raised too high for them to endure the despair of disillusionment. Some, especially young people, are destroyed by their pursuit of the Dream. A case in point is Clyde in Theodore Dresier’s novel “the American Tragedy”. Indeed, Clyde’s tragedy was not a personal one, it was an American one.Not only people are disillusioned, but the Dream itself is withered. Being pursued, it was very likely to be dominated by materialism and therefore lost its original vitality.The gap between the American Dream and reality became intolerable.Great changes took place during the 20th century. The two world wars inflicted a mortal blow upon people and sent the American youth into the pessimism and despair of the Roaring Twenties. The slaughter and the war left people spiritually numbed. It was an age that people found “allgods dead, all wars fought, all faith in men shaken”. Then came the Great Depression of the 1930s. The defeat in the Vietnam War in 1960s made many Americans doubted the strength of the country. The shortage of some essential resources and dangers of air and water pollution and many problems pointed to a decline in the material abundance that America had enjoyed throughout its historyEssentially, “the American Dream”is a confident belief as well as an optimistic desire for perfection by means of progress. The very spirit of the American Dream is a kind of optimism and confidence. But by the end of the 20th century, people were not so confident and the belief of the American Dream reached a crossroad.The history and the reality of the United States have proved that the American Dream is , to some extent, a kind of illusion.Bibliography:〔1〕Chang Yaoxin, 1987, A Survey of American Literature, Tianjing: Nankai University Press.〔2〕Donald Scott, 1984, Critical Essays on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Boston Massachusetts, G..K.Hall & Co.〔3〕Edward N. Kearny, Mary Anne Kearny and JO Ann Grandall, The American Way: An Introduction to American Culture, World Publishing Corp.〔4〕Fitzgerald, F. Scott,1992, The Great Gatsby, Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.〔5〕Gotteman, Renald, et al.,1979, The Norton Anthology of American Literature (V olume 2), London: W.W. Norton and Company New York.〔6〕Hillegas, C.K., 1996, Cliff Notes on F. 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