American Dreams
Visions of a successful life in the U.S. and abroad
Why I Put My Wife’s Career First
The well-being of children, the status of women, and the happiness of men will depend on whether more fathers are willing to take on primary parenting roles.
Unions 30 Years Ago Are Somehow Making People Richer Today
People whose parents were in the labor movement decades ago are earning more today than those whose parents were not. Why?
The Terror and Tedium of Living Like Thoreau
When you’re alone in a cabin in the Alaskan wilderness, the simplest question becomes the most complicated: How do you fill a day?
As White Americans Give Up on the American Dream, Blacks and Hispanics Embrace It
A poll finds a split between those who fear the nation’s best days are behind it, and those who still believe better days lie ahead.
How America Lost Track of Ben Franklin’s Definition of Success
According to Franklin, what mattered in business was humility, restraint, and discipline. But today’s Type-A MBAs would find him qualified for little more than a career in middle management.
Photographing the American Dreamers
When we asked Atlantic readers to show us what a successful life looks like, we received hundreds of submissions from around the country. Then, we smashed them up.
From Dishwasher to Award-Winning Restaurateur
Hugo Ortega's journey from undocumented Mexican immigrant to owning three of Houston's top restaurants
The Life and Death of the American Lawn
Grasses—green, neatly trimmed, symbols of civic virtue—shaped the national landscape. They have now outlived their purpose.
Do Americans Still Dare to Dream Together?
As 2016 draws near, most report being satisfied with their own lives, but not with the direction of the country.