Did American Exceptionalism Cause Irreparable Damage or Spell Success

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

In their book A Patriot’s History of the United States, Larry Schweikart and Michael Allen seem to generally believe in the superiority of Europeans to the rest of the world. Schweikart and Allen go out of their way to note the superiority of European fighting patterns, the virtuous motivations of Christian explorers, the justification of genocide, and even the selflessness of the Founding Fathers. Though not completely inaccurate, the bias in favor of the colonists leaves many perspectives completely out of the picture.

In a time when the Native Americans were building complex structures and had control of all of the Americas, the Spanish arrived, and took control from the natives conquering the Americas and leaving behind their influence until 1680. Also in a time when new colonists are arriving from England to America to form settlements, and settlers begin to reconsider their traditions. It is in this context that the Spanish and New England colonists are compared and contrasted. The Spanish and New England colonies from 1492 to 1700 were significantly similar in terms of treatment of indigenous people and considerably different in control of religion and control of European government.

This section highlights that history has created a false narrative depicting the natives as a victimized people, which they were to some extent but only in the fashion that they did not possess the same technology for warfare, immunity of communal diseases transmitted, and they were not anticipating combat. All other factors considered, the natives stood to be a potential threat. In regards to knowledge obtained by Spaniards prior to arrival and knowledge gained from observation, it would be remiss had they not prepared for battle. This argument is not to be misconstrued in approving their actions; I do recognize colonization as an evil for both the reasons employed and its damaging effects, but rather to change the narrative surrounding that of the native people. While they did experience a tragedy, I feel that it is erroneous to write them into history as being incompetent resulting from their

When the first American settlement on Roanoke Island was established in 1585 it’s primary force, Sir Walter Raleigh, had no idea that this “New World” would evolve into one of the most powerful voices in the modern world. But before it developed it would have to shaped by it’s founders from the Western world. Two of the largest voices in America’s early development are John Smith, who with a group of English merchants, hoped to get rich in this new land, and William Bradford, a puritan farmer who was one of the most influential men involved with the Mayflower compact. In their two pieces they both convey America as a place to escape but

When examining early American history it is commonplace, besides in higher academia, to avoid the nuances of native and colonizer relations. The narrative becomes one of defeat wherein the only interaction to occur is one of native American’s constant loss to white colonizers. It is not to say that the European colonizers didn’t commit genocide, destroy the land and fabric of countless cultures, but rather when looking at history it is important to take a bottom’s up approach to storytelling. We must examine in what ways the native Americans fought English colonization, not just through war, but also through the legal system that was established after the area was colonized.

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.

The history of the United States with regards to its native population is inaccurate and assumes that the history of this country began when the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock (Richter, pp. 4-5). With regards to the native people’s

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.

“The Indian presence precipitated the formation of an American identity” (Axtell 992). Ostracized by numerous citizens of the United States today, this quote epitomizes Axtell’s beliefs of the Indians contributing to our society. Unfortunately, Native Americans’ roles in history are often categorized as insignificant or trivial, when in actuality the Indians contributed greatly to Colonial America, in ways the ordinary person would have never deliberated. James Axtell discusses these ways, as well as what Colonial America may have looked like without the Indians’ presence. Throughout his article, his thesis stands clear by his persistence of alteration the Native Americans had on our nation. James Axtell’s bias delightfully enhances his thesis, he provides a copious amount of evidence establishing how Native Americans contributed critically to the Colonial culture, and he considers America as exceptional – largely due to the Native Americans.

Two European nations stumbled upon and colonized the Americas in the 16th-17th century. England sent out many groups to the East coast of North America in order to get their hands on two particular provinces. These two provinces were labeled as the New England and the Chesapeake. Although both nations would unite as one in the 1700’s, they were profoundly different and both provinces possessed qualities unlike the other from dawn. Also, the Chesapeake and New England founding fathers didn’t share the same intentions when they arrived at the New Old, which lead to many distinctions between the political, economic and social aspect of the two colonies.

(1) History. The student understands the causes and effects of European colonization in the United States. The student is expected to:

Manifest Destiny, one of the most influential ideologies in American history, was used as the basis to justify almost-continuous conflict from the early- to the late-19th century (Greenberg 3). This conflict included the relentless displacement of Native Americans from their ancestral lands, a war of aggression against Mexico in 1846, and attacks on countries such as Canada, Cuba, and even Central America, by filibusters and military action to gain overseas colonies (Greenberg 10, 25, and 26). While Manifest Destiny first arose as a dominant ideology during the early nineteenth-century, the concept of American exceptionalism, the heart of this ideology, was older than the nation itself. This concept was taken by white Americans as proof that they, and their nation, were unique and marked by God for a special destiny (Greenberg, 5). It would be several decades before the advantages of American settlement would be presented to the world. One advantage being the Louisiana Purchase, which was the expansion westward.

Issue one from the McKenna text presents two divergent political philosophies from Humanities professor Wilfred M. McClay and Historian Howard Zinn regarding the concept of American exceptionalism. McClay and Zinn provide convincing arguments as they support their contrasting viewpoints with key examples from American history on the question, “Should Americans believe in a unique American mission?” On one hand, McClay offers a belief in the unique American “mission” as interconnecting with our Founding Fathers through divine providentialism. On the other hand, Zinn rejects this notion asserting that restraint from the mythical belief of American exceptionalism will suppress combative desires.

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