American dream 的詞源

“美國夢”一詞由詹姆斯·特魯斯洛·亞當斯（James Truslow Adams，1878-1949）於1931年創造，他是一位美國作家和流行歷史學家（與馬薩諸塞州的亞當斯家族無關），在《美國史詩》中提出了這個概念。

[The American Dream is] that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. It is a difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret adequately, and too many of us ourselves have grown weary and mistrustful of it. It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position. [Adams]

“美國夢”是這樣一個夢想，即在這片土地上，每個人的生活都應該更美好、更豐富、更充實，每個人都有機會根據自己的能力或成就而獲得相應的機會。對於歐洲上層階級來說，這是一個難以充分解釋的夢想，而我們自己中的太多人已經變得疲倦和不信任它。這不僅僅是關於汽車和高工資的夢想，而是一個社會秩序的夢想，在這個秩序中，每個男人和每個女人都能夠達到他們天生能力的最高水平，並被他人認可，而不受出生或地位的偶然影響。”[亞當斯]

其他人使用這個術語時，會有不同的理解。