American Exceptionalism

While our country was fighting for its independence at an early age there was one man who had the most powerful influence from the tip of his pen and this man was John Locke. John Locke had an incredible amount of influence on the declaration of independence and this came from the fact that he expressed the radical view that “government is morally obliged to serve the people, namely by protecting life, liberty, and property.” John Locke was a big part of helping influence what this country has come to be today and he often goes unrecognized when labeling big contributors to the declaration of independence.

In its own way, America is in fact exceptional. While it may be lacking or struggling in some certain areas, it excels in others. America is exceptional in that it has become a sort of refuge, or safe-haven, harboring those in need and providing them with new, prosperous opportunities. Allowing for new opportunities and extending basic rights to all, America assists in the success of individuals, indirectly advancing the nation as a whole. However, just because America is indeed exceptional in some regards, that does not make it superior over all other nations or imply that our nation is without fault. Hillary Clinton for example once stated, “When we say America is exceptional it means that we recognize America’s unique and unparalleled ability to be a force for

During the 18th century a European intellectual movement referred to as the Age of Enlightenment, or the Age of Reason, shaped the Western world with the introduction of concepts such as natural rights and the separation of powers. These concepts influenced significant events in history such as the French Revolution, which later on inspired and influenced the American Revolution against Great Britain’s heavy taxation. Furthermore, these significant events introduced the foundations of an ideal government, which stemmed from the ideas of the philosophes of the Age of Enlightenment. For example, John Locke argued that the duty of a government was “to protect the natural rights of the people” ("Foundations of American Government"). Also, Montesquieu

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.

In the early 1700’s, tension began to grow between Great Britain and the Colonies from America to become an independent country. In order to declare their own right, they proclaimed independence from Great Britain. The driving force behind the revolutionaries was, (most importantly) ‘battle cry for liberty, the unity of the colonies, the men and women who encouraged the colonies to fight for their independence. Some of these people include, Thomas Paine, the author of “Common Sense” that greatly influenced the revolution, Thomas Jefferson, one of the founding leaders of the United States and John Adams who was the second president of the United States and helped with the declaration of independence. Each of these people played a vital role in giving America independence.

Exceptionalism is neither new, as explained above, nor exclusive to the United States. Several historical actors, such as Great Britain, France and the former Soviet Union claimed exceptionalist ideas (Ignatieff, 2005; Holsti, 2010). The current U.S. President Obama also stresses a similar point by stating that “I believe in American exceptionalism, just as I suspect that the Brits believe in British exceptionalism and the Greeks believe in Greek exceptionalism” (Obama, cited in Ceaser, 2012, p.4). However, exceptionalism purposed by the U.S. is different from those of other countries. Firstly, although each countries believe in their own uniqueness (Hoffmann, 2005), no country but the U.S. claims and attempts to discharge its missionary duty in international affairs. Regarding this point, Ignatieff (2005, p.13) states that the U.S.’s “desire for moral leadership is something more than the ordinary narcissism and nationalism that all powerful states display”. Secondly, the U.S. has embraced the exceptionalist ideas from the very outset of its history, while other great powers in history only started to adopt it in order “to justify their acquisition and maintenance of empires” (Davis and Lynn-Jones,1987, p.22). This fact implies that American exceptionalism is not mere political ideology, but national identity, which has strongly inherited among American public. In the U.S., where diversified people live together, it is not common language, religion or culture, but shared

“I do not agree with a word you say but I will defend to my death your right to say it.” When Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher François-Marie Arouet, better known as Voltaire, spoke these words during his lifetime, he had no idea that years later words very similar would be penned in a brand new country’s constitution. Nevertheless, his ideas became a reason why colonists fought for independence in the American Revolutionary War. This is just one small example of how the Enlightenment period came to influence the American Revolution and the formation of the American Government. Beginning around the time of the 18th century, the Enlightenment was an ‘enlightening’ or clarification of brand new ideas. However, the Enlightenment took the ideas that were discovered in the Scientific Revolution a step further, looking into how science applied to society and government. Like all of the other transformations that took place in Europe, Enlightenment ideals focused more on the aspect of reason than of religion. A couple of major thinkers that emerged from this time period were John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Voltaire, Baron de Montesquieu, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Locke proposed the idea of natural rights, and the idea that people have the right to revolt if they feel their government is not protecting their natural rights. This became very important in the development of America’s Government, and became a basis for why colonists wanted to declare independence from Great

Colonial leaders used Enlightenment ideas to justify the rights they believed were essential. The Thomas Jefferson and other composers fused Locke's ideas of equality, life,

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.

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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

It wasn't until the American Revolution halfway across the world on the other side of the Atlantic ocean that the metaphorical seed planted in France finally sprouted. The Americans took these Enlightenment ideas of freedom, liberty and equality, and immediately put them into effective action against British oppression, and thus the American Revolution began. The American Revolution borrowed heavily from Enlightenment ideas. In fact, Thomas Jefferson, a key character in the the Revolution, based his ideas directly on the ideas of Locke, declaring that all men were equal. Although he altered these ideas slightly by stating a more radical idea that the people could overthrow oppressive government, his idea that the government exists solely to serve its people was nonetheless identical to that of Locke.

The latter half of book is dedicated to his additional contentions on American foreign policy as found in Diplomacy. Kissinger lays out America's path from isolationism to superpower engagement and the tension between this latent isolationism and the perception that its liberal principles should apply to the world. The world order also focuses on the stance and role of US in affecting the existing world order and looking into its potential role in the future. Understanding this role and the so-called American exceptionalism wherein its domestic principles were self-evidently universal and the perception that its foreign policy was an optional activity (The US is founded, as the declaration of independence proclaims, on universal principles

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.