For him, at all events, the better future will not merely happen.

He will have to do something to deserve it.

It may be wrecked by unforeseen obstacles, by unsuspected infirmities, or by some critical error of judgment.

So it is with the Promise of American life.

From the point of view of an immigrant this Promise may consist of the anticipation of a better future, which he can share merely by taking up his residence on American soil; but once he has become an American, the Promise can no longer remain merely an anticipation.