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The concept of american exceptionalism
The concept of american exceptionalism
The concept of american exceptionalism
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Throughout the annals of American history, the advocation for freedom, and the absorption of ideals such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness have been at the forefront of the American belief. These beliefs were implemented in 1776, through the Declaration of Independence. This document was ratified by recalcitrant Americans who would not tolerate subjection to tyrannical rule. The American people hoped this document would seal their fate in relation to Europe, and prove to Europe, and frankly the entire world, that they were a separate, sufficient nation. But as the years unfolded, the realization that America would continue to be considered an inferior nation arose.
We are ‘settlers’. We take up land that belongs to us, American citizens, by paying the government price for it.” (Burton 238). This comment on a deeper context was the view and beliefs of American in 1848. Additionally, the social hierarchy is apparent and supports Alamar’s comment that there is inequality and prejudices within the U.S. government.
During the course of the early and mid-1800s, the United States of America went through a rapid transition of economic, social, and territorial changes. Immediate alterations to its political system continued to be a constant focus in development as well. Likewise, the early and mid-1800s was the same time period when the Market Revolution and the idea of westward expansion –also known as the Manifest Destiny– sparked an interest towards many working Americans. After a few decades of winning independence from British sovereignty, America already had its fair share of progress and of great leaders. But to be a leader who ideally understood the voices and needs of the so-called “common man” (The American Promise, 284) , a term that was coined
In the late 1800s, Europe was scrambling to conquer vast amounts of land. Imperialism had swept the continent by storm, with many countries vying for pieces of Africa and Asia to control. From 1880 to 1900, Britain, France, Germany, and Italy fought for African possessions and by 1900, nearly the whole continent had been split and placed under European rule. There was plenty of motivation for Europeans to conquer the world, and while some supported it, others didn’t. Most people in Europe at this time held ethnocentric views toward the “uncivilized” cultures in the world.
In the United States of America, the late 19th century proved to be a time of much change. With change, there was no shortage of challenges being presented to the country and its leaders. One of those leaders during that time was President Ulysses S. Grant, who came to recognize some of the biggest challenges would be the country’s negative economy and fair equal treatment to all citizens of the U.S. Another man that recognized some major challenges facing the U.S. at that time was Frederick Jackson Turner. He would go on to study Americanization for most of his life, and creating an ideology of what made America the way it is.
After pondering Mr. Stark’s historical data about the “American Miracle” I would agree in part that Mr. Stark’s belief that it was largely due to the Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution, perhaps catapulted America to a place where democracy, inventors, religious freedom, and ownership thrived. The “American Miracle” thrived conceivably, that people believed in something bigger than
William Penn demonstrated this immediately upon his arrival in the America’s. He recognized the natives as the natural owners of the land and pledged to purchase all acreage he planned to sell (Nash et al, p.79). The success in this idealism would be seen in the population growth and the immigration of even the other natives of the Americas. In fact, Pennsylvania would be much more successful that the Carolina’s in population growth and function government. The Carolina’s had a model of European idealism in that they took the land and molded it to their profitability with minimal positive interaction with the natives.
American Exceptionalism was coined by Alexis de Tocqueville in his book Democracy in America. To illustrate how the American way of thought is superior to the other ways of the world, Tocqueville expresses that the American way of thought is distinctively unique and special. This distinction is exemplified through liberty, egalitarianism, individualism, populism, and Laissez-Faire Economics. These qualities prove America’s exceptionality and difference from other countries. Although American Exceptionalism originated in the early 1800s, the idyllic values Tocqueville paints in his book can be seen throughout American history.
During the “Gilded Age” period of American history, development of the Trans-Mississippi west was crucial to fulfilling the American dream of manifest destiny and creating an identity which was distinctly American. Since the west is often associated with rugged pioneers and frontiersmen, there is an overarching idea of hardy American individualism. However, although these settlers were brave and helped to make America into what it is today, they heavily relied on federal support. It would not have been possible for white Americans to settle the Trans-Mississippi west without the US government removing Native Americans from their lands and placing them on reservations, offering land grants and incentives for people to move out west, and the
The Americans now had opened up the Mississippi Valley for expansion. This victory made American colonists very proud and patriotic toward their English heritage. “But only twelve years later, these American colonists found themselves locked in a bitter and violent conflict with the mother country that had so recently been the object of their
Individuals lay the foundation of America. The Founding Fathers of this unique nation broke their allegiance with Great Britain to create an improved governing body. They desired an individual-centered authority as opposed to Britain’s monarchy, which ruled with tyranny. These Founding Fathers experienced a neglectful democratic monarchy that cared little about the ethical treatment of its people. The domineering actions of Britain challenged these historic individuals to form a new cultural identity.
When the English arrived the Natives were “bold and audacious as they dare [came] unto [the English’s] forts, truck and trade with [them]...” (Strathcey 21). The Native Americans from the individual people all the way to their hierarchy, justice system and willingness to adapt set them in the same category of eliteness and intricacy as all other foreign societies at the
The United States has always displayed a rich diverse culture, even before it gained its independence from Great Britain in 1776. European colonists were not the first groups of people to have lived in the America, as many indigenous groups have occupied this land hundreds of years before colonization. These indigenous groups played a major role in the makeup of Latin America and Caribbean, which is what made the Americas so diverse during the time of colonization. Academics Juan Gonzales and Paul Ortiz contribute to a current school of thought that discusses the role Latin and Caribbean Americans had in the development and liberation within the United Sates and across America. Many academics in this school of thought draw upon events like
The arrival of Europeans to the Americas signaled a clash of the Old World and the New World. The profiteering Spanish had made their impression upon the Natives of these continents with bloody conquest and exploitation. The English crossed over the Atlantic with similar hopes of profit and contempt for Spanish expansionism. How these Englishmen conducted themselves would lay some of the groundwork for a future nation, the United States of America. This particular nation would be born at the expense of countless others.
In the current political environment, the question “What does it mean to be an American” is one that really caused me to think and reflect deeply. And while some are vowing to “Make America Great Again”, I think there are already a number of things that already make America great and make me proud to be an American. Early on, our founding fathers suggested through the Constitution that at its core, what it meant to be American was simply “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
