American Dream

Using Gerardo Del Guercio article on Franklin’s writing and the American Dream (See the attached article)
analyze the assigned readings from Franklin, Jefferson, Paine, and de Crevecoeur. Examine how the American dream is formed in these documents and discuss whether it is still relevant today.
Watch the video of “Savages” from Disney’s Pocahontas (See the attached article). Using the play on the term “Savages” that the song provokes, analyze the views of indigenous people and Europeans in at least three of
the readings in this section.
Jefferson, Paine, and de Crevecoeur each offer a unique perspective about certain truths concerning American rights and responsibilities. Each offers a promise of what America could and should be. Read MLK’s “I Have a
Dream” speech and Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s “Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions.” Using both of these pieces (See the attached article), argue whether America today has met the promise of the Founding
Fathers’ American ideal.
The writings of the Puritans discuss the relationship between individuality and community. How does this
relationship create a Puritan heritage that America looks back on? How does secular writing such as Franklin’s
autobiography build on the Puritan foundation? Write an essay that discusses the relationship between
individualism and community in the writing we have read for Module I & II."