American Exceptionalism Research Paper

With the start of war in Iraq and a series of terrorist attacks, the issue of American exceptionalism became one of major public issues discussed. This concept is not just a general idea, but, on the contrary, a sort of philosophy that prevails in American nation. It has deep historical roots, and one can trace its origin and development, major influences and characteristics, and contradictions. On the one hand, such values as freedom and equality are given the highest priority. However, being proud of these constitutional foundations, many US citizens consider their way of life to be superior to that of the other nations and actively strive to share it, which often does not logically coincides with equality and freedom. 

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According to the definition, American exceptionalism can be described as an idea that the United States and American people take special place in the world being the country of opportunities and hope as a result of unprecedented balance of individual and public interests that are governed by constitutional ideals which emphasize personal and economic freedom (Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia. American Exceptionalism). It is widely held that the term took its origin from the famous work of Alexis de Tocqueville Democracy in America and meant “qualitatively different from all other countries” (American Exceptionalism). The interpretation of this concept also depends on the perspective from which it is studied: some people describe American exceptionalism as a moral superiority, while others believe that this is an ideal of societal norms and standards.  Recently, however, this term is often referred to as public propaganda that aims to justify chauvinistic American-centered view (Lockhart, Charles.).

Among all the facets of American exceptionalism, the most neutral is the historian view that holds that the United States of America are unique in terms of their origin and development without any moral implications. Historians rather provide explanation for why North America succeeded in political and economic arena. The stages of development of exceptionalism can be traced from colonial period up to present time when America became a separate independent nation. First, the concept of exceptionalism was widely popularized and replaced the idea of “Manifest Destiny” that was used to describe the unstoppable destruction of Native Americans (Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia. American Exceptionalism). The idea of uniqueness dates back to 1630, when John Winthrop made his famous remark to his fellow Puritans that they would found a “city upon a hill” and never experience the corrupt practices that they had left behind in the Old Europe (American Exceptionalism). Thus, America was perceived as a place free from tyranny and obtrusive regimes and symbolized the start of new life. 

Afterwards, since the 19th century, exceptionalism was used in the context of liquidation of slavery as a victory over tyranny, which was the result of a free of choice of Americans. Researchers point out several important factors contributed to the formation of American nation and its philosophy. First of all, it is the availability of a vast pool of resources, which were so scarce in Europe by that time. The view of America as the land of freedom and opportunities can be ascribed to the fact that the first settlers that populated North America were often desperate seekers of a new destiny and better life and the major incentive for their risky relocation was primarily land and the possibility of realization of their own values and ideas (Deborah L. Madsen). North America was called a “New World” and attracted those who disagreed with the rules of the Old World. The views regarding society, wealth, liberties, government, and God were reevaluated to create a better place for living than the Old Europe.

After The War of Independence and American Revolution, these ideals were manifested in the works of intellectuals of American Revolution, especially Thomas Paine. In his famous work “Common Sense”, Paine defined America as not merely an extension of Europe, but as a separate, fundamentally different country offering unlimited potential and opportunities (American Exceptionalism). It is also impossible to omit the major subject of American proud, which is the Declaration Independence stating that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness” (The Declaration of Independence of the Thirteen Colonies). By that time, this document was one of the most progressive and democratic among the countries of the Old World and imparted the notion of exceptionalism to the perceptions of US inhabitants. As G. K. Chesterton noticed: “America is the only nation in the world that is founded on a creed. That creed is set forth with dogmatic and even theological lucidity in the Declaration of Independence. . .” (Lockhart, Charles.).

Tocqueville, in his turn, identified five values of this creed that played a crucial role in the development of American democracy: 1) liberty, 2) egalitarianism, 3) individualism, 4) populism, and 5) laissez-faire.  These principles have played a leading role in developing democracy and preventing such regime as monarchy and aristocratic structures (Deborah L. Madsen). The replacement of the peasants’ class by an indentured servant class and the extensive classification of society by functions following Industrial revolution fostered the development of middle class. The culmination of freedom was manifested in the activated Trade Unions movement, which extended the rights of working class and demonstrated the practical reality that labor can control their destiny (Deborah L. Madsen). 

However, as was noted before, the concept of exceptionalism changed over time. While during the period of America’s out post colonial position America was considered to be the symbol of opportunity and welcoming, with the gaining of wealth and political weight, the borders were closed for many immigrants for the reasons of their origin and race, and practical considerations. At that point exceptionalism meant power and protectionism (Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia. American Exceptionalism). In the contemporary context, however, American exceptionalism is referred to as the values and principles found in the symbolism of welcoming and opportunities of the past that can be seen in present policies and ideologies neglecting any differences between past and present, which creates the grounds for paradoxes and controversies. The proponents of exceptionalism tend to maintain a positive view of the past, present, and future, which is an essential element of social doctrine and propaganda (Byron, E. Shafer).  Many agree that exceptionalism lacks facts and logical arguments, and for this reason many researchers tend to classify it as collective idealism, or common cultural myth.

Interestingly, the term “American exceptionalism” did not appear until the WWII. It was introduced in the course of American Studies that appeared since the WWII era (Byron, E. Shafer). Horwitz pointed out that “For most of the history of ‘American Studies, most Americanists, like most non-academics, have assumed that most senses of the word “America” actually do or ought to converge. They suppose that the U.S. terrain, its government, and the ways of life of its people comprise a single, even if conflicted, whole - a “culture” - that is distinguishable from the contributions of annexed territories, populations, and polities.” It is in this sense, then, that “America is supposed to be unique” (American Exceptionalism). Evidently, this idea was highly promoted among general public to develop a greater sense of national identity and even nationalism as a major motivating factor to fight. Here one can trace a tendency of governments to develop the will to fight through public propaganda of America’s superiority to the Japanese. It is known that during the war time the Japanese people were referred to as “monkeys” to popularize hatred and American superiority (Siobhan McEvoy-Levy.). In addition, the propaganda of American exceptionalism was in work to oppose the power the communism-oriented Soviet Union during the era of Cold War. Afterwards, nevertheless, the focus of American Studies was shifted to culture, which was designed with the purpose of finding a consensus by means of integrating theories on US history and art, semiotics and psychological areas and showing that all people have some features that are the same and that even compatriots can be different (Siobhan McEvoy-Levy.).

In addition, it is worth mentioning that many consider American exceptionalism a two-way sword – a term developed by Seymour Martin Lipset. In his writings, he outlines “American values are quite complex, particularly because of paradoxes within our culture that permit pernicious and beneficial social phenomena to arise simultaneously from the same basic beliefs” (Seymour Martin Lipset). The positive side of this concept lies in the fact that the United States of America are perceived as being the most democratic and free society that is open to the people who are the most progressive and the most competent. This is the implications of the country’s immigration policy. The traditions of individualism, private property, work ethic and education ethic founded by Puritans fostered the development of capitalism, and thus, are responsible for the nation’s commonwealth accumulated over the years (Seymour Martin Lipset). On the other hand, exceptionalism is quite controversial in terms that it promotes hatred, brutality, and even violence, as manifested in the Iraq. Elliot Gorn argues that “increasingly, Americans are a people without history, with only memory, which means a people poorly prepared for what is inevitable about life - tragedy, sadness, moral ambiguity - and therefore a people reluctant to engage difficult ethical issues” (Elliot Gorn).

It is illustrative that striving to prevent the shifting balance of powers, the administration Bush started a war against Iraq in August 2002. What was really surprising is that the facts and analysis on costs, reasons, and long-term implication were presented neither to the congress no to the world community. The only reason provided was the toppling of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein accused of possessing the weapons of mass destruction. Bush has also declared that the war is also against terrorism having given, thus, a way for American aggression triggered by the events of 9/11 (Marks, Gary and Seymour Martin Lipset). Thus, using democratic principles as a cover up, America is invading Iraq. His reelection signifies that the majority of Americans support the course taken, which can be interpreted as a manifestation of continued hatred and violence for the attacks that took place several years ago.

Many might argue that the United States of America act like many other countries in the past and present time. However, this makes one doubt that contemporary America is exceptional. From the historical point of view, many events, which were ignored as contradicting the principles of freedom and equality, signify the opposite. First of all, the early settlers are responsible for genocide of the Native American populations and taking possession of their lands. Later, in need for labor force, which was in deficit at those times, thousands of people from Africa were captured and brought to America to be later enslaved in plantations (Marks, Gary and Seymour Martin Lipset). A series factors such as annexation by force of the Hawaiian Islands, the emergence of MacCarthyism, and political actions of 20th and 21st century represent serious contradictions with the notion of exceptionalism. Moreover, the external politics of the USA becomes also doubtful as some facts appear on th esurface. For illustration, many analysts consider that the meeting of Kissinger and Ford with the President of Indonesia Suharto triggered East Timor’s invasion that resulted in a murder of 200,000 Timorese (Siobhan McEvoy-Levy.).

Therefore, many scholars reject the concept of American exceptionalism as an implication of American national character. Instead, it is held that the present commonwealth of the USA can be attributed to distrinct factors such as the geographic position of the country (its borders, growing internal market), historical events (no engagement in warfares), and abundant natural resources (Siobhan McEvoy-Levy.). The advantage gained can not last indefinitely, and the tendencies indicate that the power is shifting to Middle East, which can partially explain the start of war in Iraq. Thus, the concept of American exceptionalism is controversial in terms that it is not based on historical events and logical arguments, but rather a culture created to emphasize American superiority and promote nationalism.

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