John Winthrop, Juan Jose Arevalo, And George W. Bush's Idea Of 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

One of the most catastrophic events America has faced were the September eleventh terrorist attacks. Our nation faced one of the most damaging attacks in our history and it was up to our president, George W. Bush, to address the entire nation and assure everyone that America still remains a strong and functioning country. Our President George Bush was called upon to address the nation, a nation that was currently suffering from loss, fear, and despair. His goal was to persuade Americans to take comfort in the effort being put forth in resolving the aftermath of the attacks and the fear they caused. Recognizing his audience as being innocent victims of an unknown evil, President Bush ultimately had to present a speech that mastered various techniques

Time and history has shown us over and over again the power of words. Great leaders of the world obtain that magnetic pull with words that enable them to reach masses of people throughout the world. It’s all determined by how the speaker or the writer tries to convey his or her message and what they hope to achieve with their words. The Cuban writer, José Martí evidently establishes his political views through his written piece, “Our America”. Martí’s written work is manifested by his political choice of words and distinct approaches that speak to both his fellow Cubans and the higher nations of Spain and the United Sates throughout his essay. Martí saw this as an opportunity to demonstrate the effects of imperialism of other nations in Latin

When Bush addressed the nation, he had to assure the American people of their country’s strength, which would undoubtedly triumph through this unthinkable misfortune. George W. Bush states, “These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat. But they have failed. Our country is strong (Eidenmuller).” This shows how Bush is trying to create an emotional connection to the audience by instilling in Americans that our country must remain unified and strong during this time of terror. Bush also states, “These acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve (Eidenmuller). This statement testifies that our country cannot be broken, and our country will prevail. About one-in-five Americans cite the country’s response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, as the time in their lives when they felt most proud of their country (Gramlich). This indicates just how powerful our country can be if everyone works together. The terrorist attacks on the United States will forever be burned into the memories of Americans. That being the case, Bush’s attempt at creating an emotional connection to the audience was successful because he brought the country together with words of strength.

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.

Both Alfred Bester and Andre Norton make impassioned claims about the nature of American Exceptionalism, but these claims are very hard to assess objectively. Clearly the excerpt from Bester’s book comes from the Introduction, just as the excerpt from Norton’s article comes from the Conclusion. In both cases we are presented with general statements and are left to wonder if the evidence presented in the body of each work actually supports the claims being asserted.1

September 11th catalyzed a major revival in the American public’s concern for domestic national security, which had dropped off following the collapse of the Soviet Union. The attacks, which were the first on American soil since Pearl Harbor, prompted American leaders to respond with swift and ambitious military action. At this time, the public perceived security of American territory against “terrorism”–an intentionally broad and emotionally charged term– as its chief national interest. Following the attack, President Bush announced the launch of a “global war on terror”, an international effort to combat terrorist groups and the nations that harbor them–prompting him to establish the Department of Homeland Security later that year.

In his 2012 article for the Journal of Church and State, Justin B. Litke argues that this concept of “American exceptionalism” was first introduced to the American public through Winthrop’s

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.

In his “Axis of Evils” speech, President George W. Bush makes some very bold statements that could either make him name go down as on of the United States’ great presidents or one of its worst. In his speech, he uses many rhetorical devices and stylistic devices that lead to a successful speech. In 2002, just months after the infamous terrorists attack upon the twin towers, President Bush introduced his famous speech, entitled“Axis of Evil” to restore strength in the hope of safety in America. He gains their hope and trust, by using an authoritative tone and vivid diction. Bush speaks months after the 9/11 attack, discussing how America plans to stop the terrorist attacks.

“Benito Cereno” is a work that exceedingly depicts how ideological self-delusion of an American character is one of the most dangerous capacities of mankind. Captain Delano a Yankee from “Duxbury Massachusetts” exemplifies these two American cultures of concerning nature and confidence. As Americans we have concerned and helped other less fortunate (i.e. the amount we donate to help third world countries), we are also confident and fearless in nature that we can accomplish anything (i.e. American dream). These traditional American characteristics I believe forms the American arrogance that we are stereotyped to have. We maybe helping others we have no

Donald Trump: multibillionaire business man. Donald Trump has constantly maintained an awful reputation for being impudent and insulting. Trump displays his hatred for muslims and Mexicans to gain followers in his campaign for presidency. As awful as it may sound, American citizens are drawn to Trumps campaign because he believes that no one else belongs in America, besides Americans. Trump’s ethic to making “America great again” is by excluding every non-American from America. Donald Trump has gained this mentality because he sees America as a superior country. This mentality that Trump has is American exceptionalism. The idea of American exceptionalism is the thought of superiority which drives Americans to believe that they are unique amongst other counties. Many perceive American exceptionalism differently due to the political demographics of it. American exeptionalism is an opinionated thought that each individual has. American exceptionalism is all relative to the case. Some find American exceptionalism be an ideology, due to the system of ideas that are found in it. However, many believe that American exceptionalism is the “driving force” in American society which gives Americans the motivation to succeed. American exceptionalism is a relative thought that is a driving force, but it is used with negative context and discrimination.

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

“Benito Cereno” is a work that exceedingly depicts how ideological self-delusion of an American character is one of the most dangerous capacities of mankind. Captain Delano a Yankee from “Duxbury Massachusetts” exemplifies these two American cultures of concerning nature and confidence. As Americans we have concerned and helped other less fortunate (i.e. the amount we donate to help third world countries), we are also confident and fearless in nature that we can accomplish anything (i.e. American dream). These traditional American characteristics I believe forms the American arrogance that we are stereotyped to have. We maybe helping others we have no business helping. Just

The unthinkable events of September 11 have called into question things that once seemed indisputable about America. The end of the Cold War brought with it notions of American supremacy economically, militarily, and in intelligence. The only challenge to this supremacy had been the Soviet Union, and its collapse ensured that the United States was safe to take its place as the world's only superpower. However, in the decade following the end of the Cold War, America has not been willing to accept the responsibility that accompanies this position. The weaknesses exposed by the attack all point to a need for America to abandon its perception of itself as invincible, because that attitude is precisely what made it so vulnerable. America needs