History Speaks: The Rollins College History Department Blog: Aspiration Midterm Essay

The word “aspiration” is defined as: a strong desire to achieve something high or great. (Merriam Webster Website) I believe this word can be directly linked to the home and home ownership. Many people define the American dream as owning a home. Since 2007, due to the housing crisis, we have seen the American dream under siege due to mass foreclosures and falling home prices. Having said this, I still believe most Americans dream of owning a home and have the expectation that someday they will own a home. (Arnold, NPR.org) (The picture below is a foreclosed house which is a pretty good representation of today's housing market.)

The Puritans settled into New England in the 17^th century. This group came to America searching for freedom from religious persecution. Even as far back as the seventeenth century it is apparent that the home was an extraordinarily important part of the typical American community. In the Puritan community the home was centered on religion. Building the American Dream, states, “The Puritans goal in the New World, which governed all their activities, was ‘to manipulate material life for spiritual ends.’” (Wright, 4) Entire Puritan towns were designed with the church in mind. As the book, Building the American¸ dream mentions on page 3 “For the Puritans, architectural structures were a microcosm of God’s exacting structure for the universe.” (Wright, 3)

In the late 1800s and early 1900s towns like Winter Park were experiencing a boom of real estate development. Rollins College was founded in 1885 and had a very attractive Mediterranean design. (McGlane, 17) As I mentioned in one of my blog posts towns like Winter Park have benefited greatly from having lakes. Architects like James Gamble Rogers II, had a massive impact on this town’s architecture. We still see his architectural impact today such as Casa Feliz and a house we saw in class on the Winter Park boat tour. The houses James Gamble Rogers II completed in the 1920s and 1930s were not the type of McMansions we see today. Rogers’ houses were “mostly modest but notable residential designs.” (McGlane, 21) (The first picture below is a picture I took of the interior of Casa Feliz. The second picture below is the James Gamble Rogers house we saw on the boat tour.)

After the end of the Second World War there was a huge boom in the demand for housing. Millions of men were coming home from serving in the military. (Hayden, 52) As mentioned in class, towns such as Levittown built houses quickly and affordably for many Americans. It was less expensive to own a house in Levittown than rent one in New York City (Hayden, 23)

The expectation for the typical American family was that most women would not work outside of the home. Advertisements were tailored towards housewives and homemakers. I have always found it interesting that families put so much effort and resources into maintaining a nice parlor or formal room but rarely ever use it. This is the case in many houses including my family’s house. We have a dining room that we rarely use. (The picture below to the left is a picture of Levittown and the picture to the bottom right is a stereotypical ad featuring a woman as a homemaker.)

In the latter half of the twentieth century and into present day much has changed about the home. Many households transformed from having one parent, generally the father, working to both parents working. This has had an effect on family life because it used to be that mothers had time to spend with their children most of the day but now parents spend less time with their children and have to find daycare to have their children spend most of the day at.

Today, Americans still aspire to own a home. It has become apparent that with the recent housing crisis that the aspiration of home ownership is under threat. Americans' expectations with home ownership must change in order for American’s to purchase a home. I believe if Americans realize that they have to save more and put a larger down payment towards a home then home ownership and the American dream can be a possibility for most families.

Works Cited

Arnold, Chris. Slow, Plodding’ Economy Stalled By Housing Market. National Public Radio.

December 27, 2011. Accessed March 3, 2012. Available:

< http://www.npr.org/2011/12/27/144319175/housing-market-stays-mired-in-low-home-price-

spin>

Definition: Aspiration. Merriam Webster. Available:

< http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aspiration> Accessed: March 2, 2012.

Hayden, Dolores. Redesigning The American Dream: Gender, Housing, and Family Life. New York:

W. W. Norton. 2002.

McGlane, Patrick W and Debra A. The Architecture of James Gamble Rogers II in Winter Park, Florida.

Gainesville: University Press of Florida. 2004.

Wright, Gwendolyn. “Building the Dream: A Social History of Housing in America.”