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The Pros And Cons Of American Exceptionalism

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“I believe in American exceptionalism, just as I suspect the Brits believe in British exceptionalism and the Greeks believe in Greek exceptionalism (President Barack Obama Democrat).” The word exceptional means one of a kind, unique and being exceptional, but how exceptional is the United States to this day? The way the United States was created and the way they distributed freedom, such as freedom of religion and speech, once made them exceptional. Yet, over the last 241 years of exceptionalism, our uniqueness and our prosperity that we once had, has decreased. This is due to social issues, economic difficulties and unjust political power. So, although the system in which America was created on is very unique, this does not imply that America …show more content…

America may not be the greatest country in the world, but it has some aspects that make it exceptional. One of the aspects being America's economy, which is the largest, in nominal terms, in the world. America’s economy represents 22% of global GDP and 17% of gross world product. The U.S. dollar makes up the most frequently used currency in international transactions, due to the Bretton Woods System and the 1944 Agreement, which used the U.S. dollar as the global currency and taking the world off of the gold standard.The United States is also the world's most prominent reserve currency. Furthermore, the U.S. has a plethora of natural resources, including copper, lead, phosphate, iron, nickel, petroleum, nature gas, timber, arable land and coal, holding the largest coal reserves which accounts for 27% of the world’s total. These natural resources have helped positively impact the growth of the American economy during the Industrial Revolution. Together with China, it is the largest trading nation in the world, as well as the world’s largest manufacturer, representing a fifth of the global manufacturing output. Moreover, The United States has the world’s largest and most influential financial market. The New York Stock Exchange is the world’s largest stock exchange by market capitalization. The United States has the largest consumer market in the world. So in conclusion, although not the greatest country in the world, America's economy is fairly

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Henry Ford, one of the most notorious successful Americans that invented the assembly line, once said “Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success”. The United States of America was founded on immigration which today, there is an extensive diversity of cultures inhabiting America which would leave people to believe that the idea of it being a self-governing country is an outrageous idea but it in fact worked. America is able to succeed despite being an “improbable idea” by how the country is able to unite and recover quickly after times of hardship and how the citizens are able to tolerate and coexist with other despite their differences. America is able to succeed despite being an “Improbable

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It would be different if America was some insignificant nation. But America is one of

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Alfred Bester says that there are two threads to his view of American Exceptionalism: one based on Seymour Martin Lipset and another on Frederick Jackson Turner.1 He says that Martin Lipset said that the United States is exceptional because it came out of a "revolutionary event" that set up America as "the first new nation" and built a vision for the future on the ideology that caused them to break with England in the first place.2 He says that Turner thought that because the U.S. had a lot of unclaimed land that regular people could own land and not have to depend on anyone else. This means that there wouldn’t be an aristocracy and that small land-owners stuck to the values of the Revolution.3 The combination of what Lipset and Turner said

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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.

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Famous French historian Alexis de Tocqueville once said, “America is great because she is good. If America ever ceases to be good, she will cease to be great.” (qtd. in Carson 651.) In “Recovering America’s Exceptionalism,” Ben Carson explains how we are losing touch with the values that once made America a great country.

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The way America measures items causes America to stand out to other nations and be different from others. In the article by John Marciano, it states, “... they wanted to be their own, be different, the US did not want to be a follower like the rest of the world - instead be

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In American culture, there are certain “living mythologies” that have become imbedded in our identity as a nation. All of the societal myths that exist in the United States can be considered a result of so-called “False American Exceptionalism.” From early childhood to adulthood, the idea that America behaves better than other nations, is responsible for all the good in the world, and has some divine responsibility to regulate international affairs has been drilled into American minds. Throughout the decades, these beliefs have been showcased by dozens of American leaders. Politicians have described the U.S. as the “last best hope of Earth” and an “indispensable nation.”

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According to the text “ Manifest Destiny is the belief that the United States had an absolute obligation and right to spread democratic settlement, briefly lost force once the American outskirts filled in with American settlement” (Barnes & Bowles, 2014). Some people might put Manifest Destiny as the idea of taking it by force, the attitude of taking and conquering lands and territory no matter what it cost. American exceptionalism is the belief that the United States is a remarkably free country in light of equitable goals and individual freedom. According to (Tyrell, n.d) “ in its classic forms, American exceptionalism refers to the distinctive character of the United States as a uniquely free nation based on democratic ideals and personal

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The Elements of American Exceptionalism 1. The four elements of American Exceptionalism are its location, philosophy, and qualities of the American people and how the political system works. 2. Industriousness: the activity or manufacture. 3.

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Simon Bolivar: The Latin America’s Liberator Regarded as Latin America’s greatest genius, Simon Bolivar in his days was of international renown. There are few figures in history of Europe, Asia, Africa and United States who display his unique combination of strength, character, weakness, temperament, poetic power and prophetic vision that defined him. He played a key role in the independence from Spain of present-day countries of Bolivia (named after him), Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama and Peru. During Latin America’s struggle for independence, Bolivar led audacious military attacks against royalists and Spanish armies; one of those attacks in New Granada is considered one of the most daring in military history all over the world (Langley

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America has always been known as the “Land of Opportunity” and although there may be some truth behind that saying, I do not believe it is an exceptional country. Throughout history, there have been many mistakes made and continue to be made. We, as a country, think so highly of ourselves that, “The white settlers often broke off treaties with the Indians because of the land fever, assisted by the homestead act, the gold rush in California and the Mexican-American war” (From Lecture), just for our own selfish benefits, without even a second thought towards how that will impact those that have lived on that land way before white settlers decided they would just take it away; this is not what an exceptional country would do. Exceptionalism relates

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American Exceptionalism plays a very important role in both how Americans act and how they think. It influences their culture, both at home and at work. On a more negative note, it sometimes also produces an attitude of arrogance and self-elevation. Also, it changed the course of history several times, such as when the Americans rebelled against England or when the Americans had too little labor and consequently decided to use slaves. Therefore, encouraging others to see themselves as exceptional produces negative feelings for others, yet encourages the nation as a whole to change for the greater good of all who live there.

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America the leader of the free world or America the modern model for democracy these are all terms we use to describe our country but is it really what we believe. America is the country where anyone can do anything inside the limits of the law of course but you can come from anywhere and find tons of opportunities. Though many people have differing opinions of what America means to them here’s what I believe. First the fundamental rights given from the Bill of rights.

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Perhaps we can't.   So rather, let us look at what makes America unique compared to other

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America is a big superpower, a force to be reckoned with, and a corporate country. America is built upon freedom and money just like anywhere else. But with the way I think that were going, that’s the only thing America will be in the future. And the American dollar will be worth less and less, and the economy will crash more and more. Like I said earlier America is a corporate country based upon cash.

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