What is An American?

When you hear the word ‘American’, what do you think of? You might think of some back-country, red-neck who makes a living by driving monster trucks and eating pumpkin pies. Although some of these things may be true, an American is actually much more than that. An American is an individual that strives for the American Dream. The American Dream is the pursuit of liberty and happiness, the chasing of accomplishments from effort, and the desire to pass on the individual’s achievements to his or her offspring.
The American Dream consists of many luxuries, including the desire to acquire liberty. You may now be asking what liberty exactly is. Liberty is the privilege to follow all your opportunities. In Edward J. Hudgins’ article, “What is an American,” the author states that “Americans seek personal liberty, to live as they see fit, to worship as they please.” I agree with Hudgins’ text about pursuing liberty because Americans seek liberty in order to achieve happiness. To obtain this happiness, you need to gain opportunities to seek your dreams. However, some of these opportunities only become liable when you possess personal liberties, such as freedom of religion or freedom of speech. For example, if you had freedom of religion, you would have the ability to pursue all your spiritual dreams. So, in turn, Americans search for liberty in order to gain opportunities, which eventually leads them to their dreams of a happy life. However, liberty and the American Dream can only be obtained when effort and work is applied.
To get the successful, happy life of the American Dream, an American has to work hard. As seen in American history, people are constantly fighting for rights and dreams. In 1782, De Crevecoeur wrote in his essay, “What is an American”, that Americans worked together to become successful. “Here individuals of all nations are melted into a new race of men, whose labors and prosperity will one day cause great change in the world.” De Crevecoeur’s text is important because he writes about how people came together to work together in order to accomplish and obtain their dreams. This is true in Americans in the present day. An American will work hard to reach their dream. They know that the dream won’t just come to them; they have to use a lot of effort. An American is always striving to work for improvements on social status, luxuries, and even themselves in order to grab their dreams. Ultimately, an American then wants to pass off this successful life to his young and family.
Another big part of the American Dream is the capability to pass off the fortunes of the American to his offspring. An American is always striving to get the best for his family. The reason an American would do this is because not only does he want his children to be happier and healthier, but to he wants to spread his successes all around the country. This is shown in the text of the Iroquois Constitution, which states that, “Roots have spread out...one to the North, the East, the South, and the West.” An American attempts to grow his young in the path of success. If the children can acquire the desire to obtain these achievements, then ultimately the whole country will bask in triumph. Again, not only does the American want his children to be content, but he wants the best for his country. All in all, An American want to pass on his accomplishments to his offspring.
To summarize, the American Dream is the pursuit of liberty and happiness, requires effort to obtain it, and its successes are meant to be passed on from generation to generation.There are many pieces to the American Dream. However, in my opinion, only the main pieces were covered in this essay. Therefore, always live by and look for an American. They are seen around everyday; some may be the guy down the neighborhood street or some may be our armed forces who defend our country of the United States of America.