--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think that's still what the American…" description: "\"I think that's still what the American Dream means: that with perseverance, with hard work, you can become something, that the classes won't prevent yo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c87/doris-kearns-goodwin-1951_america_i-think-that-s-still-what-the-american-d_115285.png" --- # I think that's still what the American Dream means: that… ![“I think that's still what the American Dream means: that with perseverance, with hard work, you can become something, that the classes won't prevent you from becoming, that there's a movement up that ladder with hard work.” quote by Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c87/doris-kearns-goodwin-1951_america_i-think-that-s-still-what-the-american-d_115285.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c87/doris-kearns-goodwin-1951_america_i-think-that-s-still-what-the-american-d_115285.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c87/doris-kearns-goodwin-1951_america_i-think-that-s-still-what-the-american-d_115285.png) > “I think that's still what the American Dream means: that with perseverance, with hard work, you can become something, that the classes won't prevent you from becoming, that there's a movement up that ladder with hard work.” [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The American Dream is portrayed as a meritocratic ladder where perseverance and hard work enable upward mobility regardless of class background. **In simple terms:** Hard work can lift you above class constraints. Key Takeaway Effort can overcome socioeconomic barriers. Themes American Dream social mobility meritocracy hard work Mood optimistic reflective Type motivational sociopolitical When to use this quote - career advancement - immigrant success stories - education scholarships Key Concepts class dynamics self-determination Practical Applications - Set clear, incremental goals - Seek mentorship in desired fields Questions to Reflect On - How does hard work intersect with structural barriers? - Can meritocracy be truly fair? A Different Perspective Systemic inequality often limits true meritocratic outcomes despite effort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [American dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-dream/) [Becoming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/becoming/) [Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dream Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream-means-409047/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard/) [Hard work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard-work/) [Ladders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ladders/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Means Perseverance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/means-perseverance-1358605/) [Movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movement/) [Perseverance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perseverance/) [Perseverance Hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perseverance-hard-1358606/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [“We as human beings should always shoot the goal for success. 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MJ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-avery/with-perseverance-and-hard-work-anything-is-possible-mj/) [Ada Avery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-avery/) > [When I think about parallels between myself and an Olympian, I believe that success in the world of business is underpinned by very similar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lakshmi-mittal/when-i-think-about-parallels-between-myself-and-an-olympian-i-believe/) [Lakshmi Mittal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lakshmi-mittal/) > [The American dream means that you have the chance to work hard, get an education and do great things for yourself, for your kids.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-jindal/the-american-dream-means-that-you-have-the-chance-to-work-hard-get-an/) [Bobby Jindal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-jindal/) > [Perhaps the seeds of redemption lay not just in perseverance, hard work, and rugged individualism. 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Even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaejoong/i-think-it-s-really-important-to-sustain-your-dreams-because-a-person/) [Jaejoong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaejoong/) > [The American Dream means any person can achieve prosperity through hard work and ingenuity because there are no inherent barriers in our society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-scaramucci/the-american-dream-means-any-person-can-achieve-prosperity-through/) [Anthony Scaramucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-scaramucci/) > [The American Dream means being part of a society that allows you to be or do whatever you want, and to have a sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-albright/the-american-dream-means-being-part-of-a-society-that-allows-you-to/) [Madeleine Albright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-albright/) > [“Somewhere in all the bright assurances he was lost in a private darkness, led on by a recurrent dream of more than he was.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcilvanney/somewhere-in-all-the-bright-assurances-he-was-lost-in-a-private/) [William McIlvanney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcilvanney/) > [Daring to dream means daring to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-h-schuller/daring-to-dream-means-daring-to-live/) [Robert H. Schuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-h-schuller/) > [“To dream" means to focus and zoom the photos of destiny called visions for clearer view, manipulation and exploitation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/to-dream-means-to-focus-and-zoom-the-photos-of-destiny-called-visions/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [“No reality has the power to dispel a dream" means that no matter what happens in the world, you can keep thinking about something,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemony-snicket/no-reality-has-the-power-to-dispel-a-dream-means-that-no-matter-what/) [Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/) > [Everything in your dream means exactly what you think it means.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-ingerman/everything-in-your-dream-means-exactly-what-you-think-it-means/) [Sandra Ingerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-ingerman/) ## More by Doris Kearns Goodwin > [I write about presidents. That means I write about guys - so far. I'm interested in the people closest to them, the people they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/i-write-about-presidents-that-means-i-write-about-guys-so-far-i-m/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [What I think I've learned is that you're never going to get it all right, and you can't obsess about having a fact wrong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/what-i-think-i-ve-learned-is-that-you-re-never-going-to-get-it-all/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [I wish we could go back to the time when the private lives of our public figures were relevant only if they directly affected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/i-wish-we-could-go-back-to-the-time-when-the-private-lives-of-our/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [People will love him (Theodore Roosevelt) for the enemies he has made.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/people-will-love-him-theodore-roosevelt-for-the-enemies-he-has-made/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [“This extreme treatment was among the proliferating regimens developed in response to the stunning increase in nervous disorders diagnosed around the turn of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/this-extreme-treatment-was-among-the-proliferating-regimens-developed/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [“I could carve out of a banana a judge with more backbone than that,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/i-could-carve-out-of-a-banana-a-judge-with-more-backbone-than-that/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [“And Lincoln, as would be evidenced throughout his presidency, was a master of timing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/and-lincoln-as-would-be-evidenced-throughout-his-presidency-was-a/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [“Don’t hit till you have to; but, when you do hit, hit hard.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/don-t-hit-till-you-have-to-but-when-you-do-hit-hit-hard/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [“After ministering each day to the hundreds of young men who had endured ghastly wounds, submitted to amputations without anesthesia, and often died without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/after-ministering-each-day-to-the-hundreds-of-young-men-who-had/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [The value that I found in interviewing was for an educational experience, just to know that history itself is subjective, that you can't say,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/the-value-that-i-found-in-interviewing-was-for-an-educational/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [Excitement about things became a habit, a part of my personality, and the expectation that I should enjoy new experiences often engendered the enjoyment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/excitement-about-things-became-a-habit-a-part-of-my-personality-and/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [“All the cartoonists at heart liked him, and there was seldom or never anything bitter or really unfriendly in their portrayals of him; they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/all-the-cartoonists-at-heart-liked-him-and-there-was-seldom-or-never/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [I shall always be grateful for this curious love of history, allowing me to spend a lifetime looking back into the past, allowing me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/i-shall-always-be-grateful-for-this-curious-love-of-history-allowing/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [“Simon Cameron: “I loved my brother, as only the poor and lonely can love those with whom they have toiled and struggled up the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/simon-cameron-i-loved-my-brother-as-only-the-poor-and-lonely-can-love/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [When I look at what a writer owes to the reader, it's critical to know that everything you're writing about is not made up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/when-i-look-at-what-a-writer-owes-to-the-reader-it-s-critical-to-know/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) [Explore all 196 Doris Kearns Goodwin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) ## More America quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. 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