The Myth Of American Exceptionalism Analysis

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.

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.

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.

The illusion to which Americans are being accused of subscribing is real, but our leaders and politicians are not contracting the entertainment industry to dupe the American people. It will not be the cult of self that kills the United States, but rather its cult of deceitful and power-hungry operators, who drill it into the populace’s head that America is the greatest country in the world so it doesn’t actually have to work on being the greatest country in the world. From America’s inception, it was catechized into the head of every citizen or prospective citizen that America is the land of freedom, of dreams, of equality. Then as now, the nation’s ruling class painted the U.S. into all but a utopia, pulling the wool over the populace’s eyes as they simultaneously swept the rights out from underneath minorities, women, immigrants, and even Mother Earth herself. Illusion cannot be destroying America’s exceptionalism, because America was sown on the illusion of her own exceptionalism一it was illusion in the first place that got the nation to a state of such prosperity that we must now worry about her impending

Although the United States of America is thought of as an exceptional nation, the term, American exceptionalism itself, is believed to be extraordinary in one way or another. American exceptionalism refers to America as a unique land of great opportunity that is extremely different from other nations. According to Stephen M. Walt, author of the well-written article, The Myth of American

American Exceptionalism is the idea that the United States is uniquely special, superior, and different from other nations. First, America is inheritently different because of the way the country was founded and because of the principles it was founded on. The principles outlined in the Declaration of Independence have allowed for the United States to acquire advancements and achievements that place our country in a better standing when compared to others.

American exceptionalism is the idea that America is fundamentally different than any other nation. The term “American exceptionalism” is fairly new; it is recently popularized through political campaigns and speeches. According to Terrence McCoy’s article for The Atlantic, “How Joseph Stalin Invented ‘American Exceptionalism,’” Joseph Stalin invented the term “American exceptionalism.” Stalin did not use the term how politicians use it today; he used the term to describe America as inferior to the rest of the world’s nations, not vice versa as implied today. However, though the creation of the term was derogatory, the use today does not reflect that view. Rather, the view today implies that America is a fundamentally different nation that is

Throughout this essay I will discuss ‘how exceptional is American exceptionalism’ and I will refer to Seymour Martin Lipset. I will look at the reasoning behind why America is seen to be superior in comparison to Europe and other countries. I will look at how America is believed to be ‘exceptional’ and look at the flaws that occur in this saying. I will also look at the flaws in saying how America is ‘exceptional’ by looking at the negative sides of the United States.

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.

When I was a little girl I believed America stood for community, choice and culture and while those things are still true today, they have changed a great deal. I believe that the concepts of community, choice and culture are still what makes being American unique. While these concepts are not uniquely American in the sense that they are only found in America, the way that America perceives them and uses them makes them unique to us. Other developed democracies give their citizens opportunity for community, but in America it means something different. Even in times of discord, Americans unite when their way of life is threatened. We may disagree on a multitude of subjects, that often include religion, politics and race but when there is a

During the 2012 campaign, Mitt Romney declared, “Our president doesn't have the same feeling about American exceptionalism that we do.” (Romney, 2012) Not everything can be blamed on the Obama administration, Americans attitudes have changes and so have the ideas that made America special. It can be argued that religiosity, patriotism, and mobility are fading. (Beinart, 2014) As America and Europe have changed over time, so have the attributes that exceptionalists claim distinguish us from them. In the eyes of the contemporary right, there are three components that make up American exceptionalism: “our belief in organized religion; our belief that America has a special mission to spread freedom in the world; and our belief that we are a classless society where, through limited government and free enterprise, anyone can get ahead.” (Beinart, 2014) Trump states, “When you open your heart to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice. The Bible tells us how good and pleasant it is when God's people live together in unity.” (Trump, 2017) In this one statement he notes the importance of patriotism and how religion shapes people morally. Patriotism is an important aspect of American exceptionalism because the rights are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is an essence of American exceptionalism. Freedom

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.