American Exceptionalism: The Destiny of America

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?

Beginning in the early 1800s manifest destiny had no single root or cause, but became over time, a mindset which propelled the westward expansion of America. Manifest Destiny was the belief that the expansion of the United States throughout the continent of North America was both justified and inevitable. The actual term “Manifest destiny” was not coined until 1845 when an American columnist and editor, John O 'Sullivan, created it to promote the annexations of Texas and the Oregon Territory. However, before the term was coined, expansion had already been taking place in America for almost four decades. Beginning in 1803 with the Louisiana Purchase, America had set in stone from early in its beginnings that the frontier was the future. To fulfill this belief, the United States needed to purchase the West from the French.

Manifest destiny is one of the beliefs that existed in the United States. The latter stated belief claimed that, the settlers based in America were allowed to spread all over the continent. However, historians came into an agreement that three themes exist in relation to manifest destiny, and this include: the America’s special virtue and their institutions; America’s mission that aimed at redeeming and rebuilding the western part as per the agrarian America, and a destiny that will enhance the accomplishment of necessary duties.

Manifest Destiny is the term used when describing the United States’ expansion in the mid-nineteenth century, but it’s ideological origins go back to the Puritans first arriving in the new world. Manifest Destiny was the idea that it was God’s wish for the United States to span from ocean to ocean (Introduction). This idea of Manifest Destiny was not only an ideological belief but also a political one; expansion of the United States was brought forth from war and the ousting of Native Americans.

Manifest Destiny can be described as a belief, in the 19th century, that North-America was destined to stretch from coast to coast and that the expansion of the U.S. throughout the American continents was both justified and inevitable. It is responsible for changing the face of America and creating a new nation (Lubragge, 1809-1900). North-America’s westward expansion was due the American belief “that the strength of American values and institutions justified moral claims…”, land west of the Mississippi River “were destined for American-led political and agricultural improvement.”, and that “God and the Constitution ordained an irrepressible destiny to accomplish redemption and democratization throughout the world.” (Beatty et al.,

After receiving a charter from the British Massachusetts Bay Company to settle across the lands of current-day Massachusetts, and abandoning his manor lordship in English, John Winthrop would declare towards those settles of the Massachusetts Colony that "We shall be as a city upon a hill,". The idea of American exceptionalism is an idea that has been dated back towards the time of settlement, and that could be traced into the current twenty-first century. When we trace this idea from beginning to end, one is able to see that American exceptionalism was a good thing for the world as a whole. By analyzing the spreading of the American political ideas into the European nations, and how American acted as the defense against tyranny, one will be able to understand the reasons why American exceptionalism has created good in the world. Additionally, there will be discussion of the pro-team of the team, the process of their research, the reason why they lost, and what could be improved.

White American settlers believed their manifest destiny, or God-ordained reasoning for being alive, was to subdue the continent. In other words, they thought they were put on the earth for the sole purpose of expanding the United State’s territory, from coast to coast. Just as Shakespeare said, “It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.” Though the nation believed that expansion was what God wanted, they had to put forth the effort and take action in order to do so.

One of the largest and wealthiest countries in the world is no other than the United States of America, who has gone through countless changes in its long living history. Since winning its independence from Great Britain to current day, America has transformed intensely and continues to change over time. The term "Manifest Destiny” first created in the 1840s, has assisted the American drive into the next century and has made the country what it is currently. The ideas behind Manifest Destiny played a significant part in the development of the United States by permitting the territorial expansion of the 1800s. Devoid of the expansion era, America wouldn’t possess nearly all of the western part of the country.

On the one hand, some Americans believed that the doctrine of manifest destiny was founded on the idea that United States of America had divine providence and frugality. In their wisdom, they believed God had destined Americans to limitlessly expand the American territory, conquer, Christianize, wield control and populate as they deemed necessary. On the other hand, a section of pro manifest destiny viewed it as the historical inevitability of United States’ dominance of North America from coast to coast.

In the early years of America there was a feeling of Manifest Destiny in the nation. Manifest Destiny was the feeling that Americans were the chosen people of God and were meant to expand America to all of North America including Mexico and Canada. Of course this caused many problems with those areas along with many others, it also granted America new territories as well. One of those major conflicts was the Mexican-American war.

According to historian William E. Weeks, there are three main themes that occur while understanding Manifest Destiny. The first of these is the virtue American people possess about themselves and their institutions. This is also called American exceptionalism, and refers to the belief that the people of the United States is categorically superior because of their national doctrine, historical evolution, and political and religious institutions. This term, with respect to the United States, was first used by Alexis de Tocqueville, a French sociologist and political theorist. He is known because of his journey to the United States in 1831, leaving with the intention of studying the prisons of America, but returning with much more knowledge of America than he had intended to collect. He gathered his newfound information into a book called “Democracy in America” in 1835. Next on Weeks’ list, is the American’s mission of spreading the image of the US amongst the world, and last of all, their God given destiny to accomplish all this.

“Limiting our greatness and checking the fulfillment of our manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions.” (“John O’Sullivan Declares”). This quote from an article by John O’Sullivan, not only managed to help create the mindset of this time, but also helped coin the name, Manifest Destiny. In the 19th century, or more specifically 1845, the leading idea among a lot of Americans is that they deserved the land from coast to coast. This ideal is know as Manifest Destiny. The idea came about when the journalist, John O’Sullivan, wrote about Texas and California falling away from Mexico, and joining America. He wrote that nothing can stand in the way of Americans obtaining all the land in between the Pacific and the Atlantic Ocean. Thanks to the help of the Transcontinental Railroad, John L. O'Sullivan’s writing on Manifest Destiny, and John Gast’s painting American Progress, the culture of the United States of America during the time of Manifest Destiny is vastly focused on expansion and conquering.

In 1845, John O’Sullivan wrote an Article in the ‘United States Magazine and Democratic Review’ in favor of the annexation of Texas. In this article the term ‘Manifest Destiny’ was created. O’Sullivan wrote “the fulfilment of our Manifest Destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions.” Thus supplying the American people with the idea that it was their God-given duty to travel west and claim the lands in order for the American citizens to prosper. It was commonly believed that acting on this began with the expedition of Lewis and Clarke in 1804, however the ideas behind Manifest Destiny can be sourced back to the pilgrims’ first voyage over to the New World. The ideas of ‘Manifest Destiny’ still continue even into today’s society with American ideology and culture seeping into our own lives. However, it is not an entirely positive scheme, it had many negative repercussions primarily for the Native Americans. Many were forced out of their homes, separated from their families and thousands died. The dominant theme that runs throughout the events leading up to and the results of Manifest Destiny is the idea of American exceptionalism. This is the idea that American’s are unique in their ideals of democracy and liberty, exhibiting strength where other nations fail. This belief permeates through American culture and is only reiterated in the

The idea of American exceptionalism and self determination was an outlook that was brought upon by the first individuals that travelled to the New World from Europe. The first settlers, known as the puritans, were highly influential with the upbringing of exceptionalism and self determination on the frontier. Exceptionalism is defined by being the ideology that makes America unique and greater upon all other nations because of it’s practices of personal freedom and democracy (yourdictionary). Self determination is a term that goes hand in hand with the process of individual freedom. It goes with the concept that an individual can have anything that they want, though succession, as long as they are willing to work hard for it. Many people saw America as the land of opportunity because of the fact that there is a presence of these practices, and many other things that countries during the early times didn’t have. America is considered to be the “greatest country in the world”, but why is this even considered to be true? This is how our country has been built up since Christopher Columbus came and saw the opportunity that lied within the frontier. Many other historical figures saw the fortuity that Columbus saw, and expressed it through the argument that this is how things are intended to be for the New World. They convey to their audiences that making America the “nation of all nations” will work through the performance of bringing together their communities, to which they

Over the centuries, the concept of “American Exceptionalism” has been controversially debated in both political and academic aspects. Prima facie, the phrase American Exceptionalism is self-explanatory. It refers to the ideology that the United States possess the special character as a uniquely free nation based on democratic ideals and personal liberty as a result of its distinguish historical development. With these inherent differences from other nations, it presumes that the United States’ values, political system and culture are exclusive and worthy of worldwide appreciation. Thus, implying that the United States is entitled to take the global leading role in upholding international norms, while at the same time, should be excusable to