American Exceptionalism

Charles Murray’s American Exceptionalism invokes ideas I had not considered before. The way he describes America in its early life is unrecognizable to me. Murray discusses the geographic setting, American ideology, the traits of the American people, and the operation of the American political system. Now, centuries later than the time he described, it is like America had gone on a rapidly fast down torrent. I agree with Murray’s ideas of the exceptional traits America exuded, however, the traits I observe now, and as Murray talks about later on in the book, have taken on a different meaning. It is almost as if the once amazing concepts have been reduced to nearly half their worth. I am in no way stating America is no longer exceptional, but

American exceptionalism, even though it sounds complicated, is actually something many people have grown up learning. Exceptionalism is used to describe something as extraordinary, unique, or does not need to conform to the rules. In many ways this does describe how early Americans looked at themselves, as in they didn’t want to follow the rules of other nations or be similar in any way. The people of America broke away in hopes of being different, separate or exceptional. They wanted to be exceptional in a few areas: Ideologically, Politically, and Morally. Many Americans, and as many are taught as young children, believe that American was a good type of exceptionalism, but was that true?

In today’s world, many people consider our country, The United States of America, to be outstanding and a great country. Others do not think the same. This concept is known as American exceptionalism. This concept has been debated for many years, and to this day it still is. Although American exceptionalism can be hard to define, there are many ways to define it. Some say that we are exceptional because we are superior to everybody else and are better. Others say that God has given us the power to help us succeed. There are many different ways to view it or to understand why we are an exceptional country. Exceptional means that something stands out or is great, and adding American in front of it means that our country is exceptional in one form or another. No matter how one views it, everyone has a standpoint on the concept. Liberals like to think that we are ordinary and because of this, they do not like to believe in the exceptionalism and are “antiexceptionalists.” Conservatives on the other hand, like to think that we are special and unique compared to other countries. Therefore, they believe that we are an exceptional country. The United States of America is different than any other country in the world and that is what helps make us exceptional. From our freedom, to the beautiful country that we live in. Our nation is not only smart and strong, but it is diverse and unique.

The term “American Exceptionalism” means that the United States has held on to great stability throughout its 230 years in contrast with other nations, who have succumb to civil unrest and revolution more frequently throughout their respective national histories. The term arose in the 1830s and was coined by Alexis DeTocqueville. As DeTocqueville traveled throughout the nation, he discerned America was quite exceptional due in part to it being founded on democracy, liberty, particularly individual liberties, and equality.

American Exceptionalism is a term used to define the ideal that America is far superior to all other countries. It has been used to justify unfair actions and used to cover up flaws. Children are taught from a young age that America is the model country, and the people living there can do no wrong. In school, each bad thing that America has done in history is skimmed over, yet the accomplishments and victories are taught in great detail. For years, Americans have hid behind the phrase American exceptionalism as a way to not only avoid taking responsibility for their actions but to not push themselves to be better, as they already consider themselves perfect. The concept of this exceptionalism impedes the progress and evolution of mankind as they give up caring and trying to better themselves.

American Exceptionalism explained by David Barton is the longevity of the American U.S. Constitution compared to other nations form of government. America has had an exceptional record of accomplishment of stability because it has not gone through a Revolution over the pass 20-30 years. Alexis DeTocqueville created the term American Exceptionalism. DeTocqueville observation of America lead him to believe that America is an exceptional democratic type of people.

What was the destiny of America viewed by American Exceptionalis? All along as time has advanced, travelers have come here in great hopes to establish a great country, escape from persecution, to become rich, and many other ideas of the American dream, so to speak. After many years these ideas of what America should be has accomplished great achievements and perhaps combined the destinies of many exceptionalist. There are three separate ideas of destiny that I am going to discuss and how they combined to be what America is now.

American Exceptionalism defines how the United States special through its individualism, democracy and liberty. The America is believed to be unique based on its traits of economic opportunities, religious freedom and the protection of all citizens. According to Turner, it was the frontier which influenced and shaped the America today. His frontier thesis became an important influential document in American history. He argued that "the frontier is the line of most rapid and effective Americanization", and American frontier is distinguishable because of its abundance of free land. Turner also emphasized that " the existence of free land, its continuous recession, and the advance settlement, explain the American development".

Our founding fathers visualized a national government with specific and limited responsibilities. They were to mainly preserve domestic harmony, keep the nation safe, and have restricted intervention in the daily lives of citizens. However, with wars, depressions, and rights movements, citizen’s fears and anxieties grew. American citizens turned to the federal government for help.

Through Howard Zinn’s “The Power and the Glory: Myths of American Exceptionalism”, his view on American History has been expressed. Our country had many ups and downs when it came to expansion, but Zinn mainly focuses on the downs giving a negative view. This can be seen through the examples given showing different ways the U.S. expanded their land. He also speaks on how these acts have been justified by the theory of American Exceptionalism. Which in our country’s past we have used war to bringing freedom, order, and civilization to other parts of the world; and used divine sanction or moral obligation as reasoning for it.

Politics was also central in American labor movements. In the book, The Making of American Exceptionalism: The Knights of Labor and Class Formation in the Nineteenth Century, author Kim Voss shows how and why a successful labor movement never gained political strength as it did in England and France. The United States had similarities with its labor movements with its European counterparts. However, it was mainly because of the failure by the Knights of Labor that caused the American labor movement to go a different route. Unlike Europe, where labor movements were often supported, the United States did not support these groups. It did not witness the rise of a powerfully large socialist party either. The Knights of Labor emerged as a labor organization that welcomed all

While some find us arrogant, condescending and imperialistic, those who have come to join us in America find that there is some truth in the notion that our country is unique. Nowhere else is the freedom to express and improve yourself so widespread, and no other country welcomes those seeking that freedom so openly. Assimilation to our culture is not forced, but it is the rare individual who does not welcome it once they are here. Many people consider themselves to be the best humans on the planet, or maybe the only ones chosen by their god to succeed, but nobody can claim to be as powerful and prosperous as Americans are. To us the idea of American Exceptionalism is not propaganda or a myth; it is the understanding that the only way to the make the most of oneself is to have the freedom to do so.

Vietnam war, the Space Race, and the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. One of the highest tension points between the US and the Soviet Union was during the Cuban Missile Crisis with a US naval blockade surrounding Cuba until the removal of its nuclear weapons had started. The US issued an ultimatum to the Soviets saying” If you cross this line it will be considered an act of war”. The Russian fleet did back down from the containment line and did agree to remove nuclear weapons from communist Cuba but on the condition that the US pledge to not invade Cuba again which the US agreed to. An interesting point was that after the crisis Fidel Castro was asked if he would have agreed to use nuclear weapons, Castrol said “Yes I would have used nuclear weapons,

Americans through the years of existence have adapted well to the radical changes throughout the world. Technology, independence and social equality are some of the diverse concepts the United States have adapted to and developed in order to become a more unified country. Our nation believes that it is exceptional when it comes to other countries worldwide. As can be shown through the popular reference to America as the ‘shining city on a hill’. The term “American exceptionalism” is derived from ideals held by many Americans throughout history. Different people have analyzed American exceptionalism through multiple literary devices. Works such as A Model of Christian Charity, What is an American and Acres of Diamonds illustrate the

Our nation’s history plays an important role in American society, it sets forth the foundation on which our morals and values are based on as Americans. If we truly are one united nation under God, and our morals and values are based on what history tells us, why is it then that there is so much disparity among the American people. One reason is that our history textbooks and what we are taught by educational leaders only emphasize American Exceptionalism. The history of our nation is not fully disclosed, it omits the nasty and ugly parts. It is time that the U.S. let their skeletons out of the closet, the truth needs to be told no matter how ugly or nasty it is. The period in history known as the Nadir of Race relations, 1890 through the1960’s between whites and blacks is a prime example of American Exceptionalism.