Land of Opportunity
The United States has often been called the “land of opportunity.” The term “land of opportunity” first became cited in this context in the early 1850s. Several areas of the United States—especially in the west— advertised in the early 1900s that they were lands of opportunity.
The state of Arkansas used “Land of Opportunity” as an official state slogan from the 1940s to the 1980s. In 2015, a new faculty training guide at the University of California cautioned that “land of opportunity” was culturally insensitive.
Wikipedia: Land of opportunity
The land of opportunity is a phrase used to suggest that a place presents many possibilities for people to earn a prosperous living, and succeed in their economic or social objectives.
It is often used with reference to the United States of America, and is similar to the concept of the “American dream”. It became popular among immigrant populations who left the “old world” in search of a better life. It is also the state nickname of Arkansas.
The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture
State Nicknames
aka: Official State Nickname
(...)
In the early 1940s, a group of Little Rock (Pulaski County) businessmen known as the Committee of 100 began vigorous efforts to promote economic development and, consequently, stem the tide of outmigration in search of good jobs. Changing the state’s image was central to the group’s efforts. Committee of 100 promotional material referred to Arkansas as “Land of Opportunity,” a phrase more dynamic and perhaps less quaint than the older cognomen. In 1941, the tag phrase appeared for the first time on Arkansas auto license plates. In 1953, the Arkansas General Assembly took note of the committee’s efforts: House Concurrent Resolution 26 explicitly jettisoned “Wonder State,” noting that it did not “command the popular appeal that it once had,” and adopted “The Land of Opportunity” as Arkansas’s new nickname, alluding to a bright outlook for the development of business, industry, and agriculture.
During the 1980s, Arkansas’s outreach to tourists became more aggressive than before, reflecting a maturing understanding of tourism as a growth industry. In the mid-1980s, the Arkansas parks system began promoting Arkansas as “the Natural State” and the nickname proved popular, largely eclipsing the older “Land of Opportunity” in public esteem and currency.
Google Books
An Exposition of All the Books of the Old and New Testaments
Volume 2
Edited by Matthew Henry
London: Printed for W. Baynes
1804
Pg. 916:
The land of the living is a land of mercy, which we ought to be thankful for; it is a land of opportunity, which we should improve. Canaan is called the land of the living,
7 January 1853, The Cllnton Republican (Wilmington, OH), “Sober Truth,” pg. 2, col. 2:
Ours is the land of opportunity and of hope.
Google Books
The Life of Horace Greeley, Editor of the New York Tribune
By James Parton
New York, NY: Mason Brothers
1855
Pg. 348:
It was a consolation to him. however, even when most sick and impatient, to think that the gales which were so adverse to the pleasure-seekers of the (steamship—ed.) Baltic, were wafting the emigrant ships, which it hourly passed, all the more swiftly to the land of opportunity and hope.
7 April 1871, Massachusetts Weekly Spy (Worcester,MA), pg.1, col. 1:
It is astonishing to this writer that northern men are no more eager to rush into that land of opportunity and delight, and make their fortunes at once.
(In Virginia.—ed.)
OCLC WorldCat record
A home and farm in the great northwest : the land of opportunity ...
Author: Great Northern Railway Company (U.S.)
Publisher: [Saint Paul, Minn.] : [Great Northern Railway], [1902]
Edition/Format: Print book : English
OCLC WorldCat record
Sacramento Valley, California the land of opportunity. Issued ... in honor of the thirty-seventh national encampment of the Grand Army of the Republic, 1903.
Author: Charles Sedgwick Aiken; Sacramento Valley Development Association.
Publisher: San Francisco : Press of Phillips, Smyth & Van Orden, [1903]
Edition/Format: Print book : English
OCLC WorldCat record
The land of opportunity : a word to the prospective settler in California
Author: A J Wells; Southern Pacific Company. Passenger Department.
Publisher: San Francisco, Calif. : Passenger Dept., Southern Pacific, [1905]
Edition/Format: eBook : Document : English
OCLC WorldCat record
Our aim, 10,000 population by 1910 Siloam Springs, Ark. : a popular health and pleasure resort : center of a rich fruit, poultry, stock and agricultural country : the land of opportunity for business men, investor, manufacturers and those seeking a climate perfect for health and comfort : a growing city and country, with superior advantages for home-seekers and homebuilders
Author: Ten Thousand Club.
Publisher: Siloam Springs, Ark. : Ten Thousand Club, 1907.
Edition/Format: Print book : English
OCLC WorldCat record
Farming in New Mexico : the land of sunshine, the land of opportunity
Author: New Mexico. Bureau of Immigration.
Publisher: Albuquerque, N.M. : The Bureau, 1909.
Edition/Format: Print book : State or province government publication : English
OCLC WorldCat record
Homes, investments, homes : Oscoda County, Michigan, the land of opportunity.
Author: Laird J Troyer
Publisher: [Bay City, Mich.] : [Gregory Press], [approximately 1915]
Edition/Format: Print book : English
Fox News
Calling America ‘Land of Opportunity’ offensive, University of California warns professors
By Maxim Lott Published June 15, 2015
Phrases such as “America is the land of opportunity” and “America is a melting pot” are “micro-aggressions” that could leave some students feeling discriminated against, according to a new faculty training guide put out by the University of California that one former professor in the system says shows “how crazy it’s become.”
The guide, which says those phrases and others can be interpreted by minorities as “denying the significance of a person of color’s racial/ethnic experience and history,” or that they “assimilate to the dominant culture,” is used across the vast, 200,000-student University of California system. Specifically, it is for training professors in “faculty leadership seminars” that aim to “enhance department and campus climate toward inclusive excellence.”
Daily Mail (UK)
University of California staff warned against describing America as ‘land of opportunity’ and ‘melting pot’ for fear of offending minorities
. Professors are being trained not to use the terms because they are forms of unintended discrimination known as ‘micro-aggressions’
. The seminars are part of the university’s aim of ‘inclusive excellence’
. But a former professor says staff are now worrying about what they say and even avoiding talking to others
By KATE PICKLES FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 08:58 EST, 16 June 2015 | UPDATED: 02:30 EST, 17 June 2015