Talk:American Dream

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American Dream received a peer review by Wikipedia editors, which is now archived. It may contain ideas you can use to improve this article.

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This article is written in American English, which has its own spelling conventions (center, color, defense, realize, traveled) and some terms may be different or absent from other varieties of English. According to the relevant style guide, this should not be changed without broad consensus.

This article has been mentioned by a media organization:

Anthony Keeton (2009-02-09). "Compromising for the sake of change: the new American dream?". The Current. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

Wiki Education assignment: AMST 345 American Dream

Latest comment: 7 months ago1 comment1 person in discussion

This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 25 August 2025 and 19 December 2025. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Americandreamer2002 (article contribs). Peer reviewers: Chaccolemon.

— Assignment last updated by ArmandoBriseno3 (talk) 02:10, 19 December 2025 (UTC)Reply

Add link to other articles

Latest comment: 1 month ago2 comments2 people in discussion

Hi

I am reviewing the American Dream article and want to add some links to other articles for the terms George Washington, James Madison, and Thomas Jefferson, as well as Yuki Native Americans. I attempted to makes the edits on my own, but because the article is protected I cannot. How can I go about making these edits? Americandreamer2002 (talk) 19:00, 11 December 2025 (UTC)Reply

Can you say specifically what edits you are recommending? Dflovett (talk) 14:07, 22 June 2026 (UTC)Reply

Wiki Education assignment: ENG 1320 College Writing II

Latest comment: 4 months ago1 comment1 person in discussion

This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 21 January 2026 and 13 May 2026. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Jessiepalacios (article contribs).

— Assignment last updated by ProfRainey (talk) 01:48, 29 March 2026 (UTC)Reply

Jim Cullen-centric stuff has undue prominence in the article.

Latest comment: 2 months ago2 comments1 person in discussion

It just seems like a book written by a not-that-prominent historian, that happens to have the words "American Dream" in the title. I'm tempted to remove it. Thoughts? Benevolent Prawn (talk) 01:01, 8 April 2026 (UTC)Reply

Well, I removed it. Benevolent Prawn (talk) 18:53, 24 May 2026 (UTC)Reply

Update

Latest comment: 25 days ago2 comments2 people in discussion

Two weeks before the anniversary, Reuters published a poll that captured the depth of American anxiety – and the numbers were grim. More than two-thirds (70%) of Americans no longer consider their country the greatest nation on Earth, while 64% believe American democracy is in danger. And 38% don’t believe the United States will survive another 250 years as a single country.

As US nears 250th birthday, Reuters/Ipsos poll shows many Americans doubt it will last another 250 years

~2026-37586-25 (talk) 02:02, 15 July 2026 (UTC)Reply

"consider their country the greatest nation on Earth" They don't consider a real-life dystopia where mass shootings happen nearly every day, mass surveillance is perfectly legal, and deportation of American citizens is rather frequent to be a great nation? That seems perfectly sane to me. And democracy in the United States has been in danger for quite a while, see the article Democratic backsliding in the United States:

- "These developments have resulted in a number of indices and experts ceasing to classify the country as a democracy. The Polity data series classified the United States as an "anocracy" following the attempted self-coup by Trump in the January 6 United States Capitol attack of 2021; in 2024 and 2025, it was further downgraded, and by October 2025 described as "no longer considered a democracy" and lying "at the cusp of autocracy".^[1]"
- " Bright Line Watch made similar statements in September 2025, describing expert ratings of the country as "closer to those of a mixed or illiberal democracy than a full democracy".^[2] (Bright Line Watch describes an illiberal democracy as including: executive influence on the judiciary, weak enforcement of financial laws, pressure on the media and selective access, partial manipulation of official statistics, and firing of government employees based on political criteria.^[2]" Dimadick (talk) 06:31, 15 July 2026 (UTC)Reply

Tenets

Latest comment: 23 days ago2 comments2 people in discussion

The tenets of the American Dream originate from the Declaration of Independence, which states "all men are created equal", and have an inalienable right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness"

IMHO the "tenets" originate from extermination of the Native Americans and dispossesion of their lands. Furher, the "illiberal democracy" reflexion outside the USA is "Play by our rules, or we'll crush you" and the dollar as the world currency. ~2026-37586-25 (talk) 15:16, 17 July 2026 (UTC)Reply

Pretty much. The Americans typically play by offering the carrot and stick as incentives to the rest of the world. But they are pretty good at delivering the stick, while often lying about the carrot. And by "pursuit of happiness", they mean the freedom to kill and steal. Dimadick (talk) 15:50, 17 July 2026 (UTC)Reply

↑ "index". Polity data series. October 2025. Retrieved November 7, 2025. NOTE: The USA dropped below the "democracy threshold" (+6) on the POLITY scale in 2020 and was considered an anocracy (+5) at the end of the year 2020; the USA score for 2021 returned to democracy (+8). Beginning on 1 July 2024, due to the US Supreme Court ruling granting the US Presidency broad, legal immunity, the USA is noted by the Polity Project as experiencing a regime transition through, at least, 20 January 2025. As of the latter date, the USA is coded EXREC=8, "Competitive Elections"; EXCONST=1 "Unlimited Executive Authority"; and POLCOMP=6 "Factional/Restricted Competition." Polity scores: DEMOC=4; AUTOC=4; POLITY=0. The USA is no longer considered a democracy and lies at the cusp of autocracy; it has experienced a Presidential Coup and an Adverse Regime Change event (8-point drop in its POLITY score).
1 2 "Violence, redistricting, and democratic norms in Trump's America | Bright Line Watch". Bright Line Watch. September 1, 2025. Retrieved November 7, 2025. As the graph below indicates, the current U.S. democracy rating of 54 among experts is closest to the 44 rating experts gave to our hypothetical illiberal democracy ("Country B"). Experts put the U.S. at approximately equal distance from the strong democracy ("Country A"), which received an average rating of 92, and the non-democracy ("Country C"), which received an average rating of 18.

[:5-1] "index". Polity data series. October 2025. Retrieved November 7, 2025. NOTE: The USA dropped below the "democracy threshold" (+6) on the POLITY scale in 2020 and was considered an anocracy (+5) at the end of the year 2020; the USA score for 2021 returned to democracy (+8). Beginning on 1 July 2024, due to the US Supreme Court ruling granting the US Presidency broad, legal immunity, the USA is noted by the Polity Project as experiencing a regime transition through, at least, 20 January 2025. As of the latter date, the USA is coded EXREC=8, "Competitive Elections"; EXCONST=1 "Unlimited Executive Authority"; and POLCOMP=6 "Factional/Restricted Competition." Polity scores: DEMOC=4; AUTOC=4; POLITY=0. The USA is no longer considered a democracy and lies at the cusp of autocracy; it has experienced a Presidential Coup and an Adverse Regime Change event (8-point drop in its POLITY score).

[:8-2] 1 2 "Violence, redistricting, and democratic norms in Trump's America | Bright Line Watch". Bright Line Watch. September 1, 2025. Retrieved November 7, 2025. As the graph below indicates, the current U.S. democracy rating of 54 among experts is closest to the 44 rating experts gave to our hypothetical illiberal democracy ("Country B"). Experts put the U.S. at approximately equal distance from the strong democracy ("Country A"), which received an average rating of 92, and the non-democracy ("Country C"), which received an average rating of 18.

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