The American Dream is something as old as America itself and which continues to endure. But what exactly is the “American Dream”? This is something that has changed many times and been the subject of controversy for centuries. First, it was to become the perfect society and person through God as defined by the Puritans (the first settlers in America), then it became the pinnacle of moral and intellectual perfection with the Rationalists, who were revolutionaries such as Benjamin Franklin. The Transcendentalists are a group undefined by an era, as they were present at every stage of American history and continue to be so. They had more modern visions such as autonomy and individualism; a recurring theme we see today in what people describe as the American dream. However, other than that, one will not see much resemblance to our country's past ideals. Today, the American dream is above all a question of money. As a nation, we idolize people who seemingly overcame enormous obstacles in life on their own in rags-to-riches stories, and then wonder why we can't do the same. We ask for ours...