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Exceptionalism

Exceptionalism Is America exceptional? Have American values, institutions, and/or traditions demonstrated unique patterns? Is so, how and when? Why is comparing the American experience to experiences in other nations important? Making war/making peace

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Exceptionalism

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  1. Exceptionalism • Is America exceptional? Have American values, institutions, and/or traditions demonstrated unique patterns? Is so, how and when? Why is comparing the American experience to experiences in other nations important? • Making war/making peace • How do nations interact with each other? How has the US projected its power abroad? • How has US participation in wars and peace changed its status in the world? How have wars served as turning points for the US place in the world?   • Expansion • How and why has the US expanded? In what areas (territorially, culturally, economically, ideologically) has the US expanded? What motivated American expansion? What made American expansion possible? What has been the impact of American expansion on the world? What has been the impact on the US? • Human Rights and Democratic Traditions • How have the US democratic traditions and ideals affected interactions with other nations? How have American ideas of democracy and rights shaped and conflicted with other nations? • Perceptions of America at Home and Abroad • How has America’s role in the world been characterized, and what is the significance of these characterizations? (For example: imperialist, empire, beacon of liberty, manifest destiny, global policeman, vital interests, national security, and colonialism). How has the US defined itself? How have interactions with other nations affected Americans’ understanding of their own identity?

  2. “Whether we begin with American history and look outward to the rest of the world or start with world history and the place of the United States in it, a central problem facing us concerns the distinctiveness of American society. The issue of exceptionalism looms over most attempts to place U.S. history in a wider context.” ~ Carl Guarneri, America in the World (2007), p.12

  3. A belief that America has had a unique historical experience –set “apart from history” • A belief that American values are superior to all others • A belief that America has a unique role to play in the world • “The belief in their own uniqueness –and superiority—is especially deeply rooted among Americans.” ~ Carl Guarneri, America in the World (2007), p.12

  4. "I believe in American exceptionalism … just as the Brits believe in British exceptionalism, and the Greeks in Greek exceptionalism.” • " I'm enormously proud of my country and its role and history in the world… And so I see no contradiction between believing that America has a continued extraordinary role in leading the world towards peace and prosperity and recognizing that that leadership is incumbent, depends on, our ability to create partnerships because we create partnerships because we can't solve these problems alone."

  5. “We’ve recently had discussions of America’s exceptionalism — the unique and magnificent place in history of this country, the greatest nation in the history of the world, a unique and powerful democracy, with virtually unlimited productivity, generosity and humanity.  This adds up to the unique and wonderful role America plays in the world. I would have thought that everyone would see that all of reason and history would without question concede this American exceptionalism” • “The need to see and appreciate this exceptionalism is not based on excessive nationalism or myopic patriotism. It is based on reality and the importance of understanding the magic of America. That correct perception is what inspires Americans and helps make Americans perform above and beyond the call of duty. The correct perception inspires our countless heroes who have defended America since its founding.” ~ Freerepublic.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2229767/posts Retrieved 9/24/09

  6. “Implicitly and explicitly, this speech was a rejection of American exceptionalism, which is not unusual among the circles that he has traveled in his entire life, from the Chicago far-left academic circles to the pew that he sat in for 20 years where Jeremiah Wright … Barack Obama has literally and figuratively bowed and scraped to for the last eight months.” Michele Malkin on Obama’s U.N. Speech, 9/24/09

  7. Partly from Europeans • Columbus’s voyages • See “the New World” as a blank slate

  8. America is a unique society characterized by: • Liberty • Egalitarianism • Individualism • Populism • Laissez faire

  9. “… the Lord will be our God and delight to dwell among us … for wee must Consider that wee shall be as a Citty upon a Hill, the eies of all people are uppon us; soe that if wee shall deale falsely with our god in this worke wee have undertaken and soe cause him to withdrawe his present help from us, wee shall be made a story and a byword through the world, wee shall open the mouthes of enemies to speake evill of the wayes of god and all professours for Gods sake; wee shall shame the faces of many of gods worthy servants, and cause theire prayers to be turned into Cursses upon us till wee be consumed out of the good land whether wee are going.” Retrieved, 9/24/09 from: <http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/winthrop.htm>

  10. Absence of a feudal past • No class divisions to break down • Available land and Resources • Cheap land breaks down the class system • Easier to attain middle class status • “why is there no socialism in the U.S.? Roast beef and apple pie on the table!!!” • Revolution breeds new egalitarian ideas • Diverse population – ‘melting pot’ • Absence of a state church

  11. “Born out of revolution, the United States is a country organized around an ideology which includes a set of dogmas about the nature of a good society. Americanism, as different people have pointed out, is an "ism" or ideology in the same way that communism or fascism or liberalism are isms.” • American Exceptionalism:A Double Edged Sword (1996)~ Seymour Martin Lipset

  12. Has affected how Americans interacted with the world • Isolationism or Global leadership • Affected how Americans viewed other people and cultures • Native Americans • Affected the conduct of foreign policy • Vietnam: “We had to destroy the village to save it”

  13. Primary Source speeches extolling American exceptionalism • “Through their eyes”: How has exceptionalism affected Americans view of themselves in the world and interaction with others? • “Change Over Time”: How has American exceptionalism changed in nature over time?

  14. How did the Americans in these documents view Europe? • What do they think is new and exceptional about America? • How do they view their role in global history?

  15. How do these opinion makers view America’s ‘destiny’ in the world? • What are the ‘superior’ American values they are seeking to export? • What factors do they think makes America destined for such greatness? • How do they view ‘other’ people that stand in the way of America’s progress?

  16. How does American exceptionalism influence the foreign policy goals expressed in these documents? • How do the authors of these documents view America’s role in the world? • What values do they claim America stands for?

  17. Why is it important that our students are aware of ‘exceptionalism’ • How could you use this in a lesson plan?

  18. Fascinating article here on American Exceptionalism in the wake of Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize. • “ARE WE WITNESSING THE DEMISE OF 'AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM'?” By Georgie Anne Geyer • LINK: • http://news.yahoo.com/s/ucgg/20091014/cm_ucgg/arewewitnessingthedemiseofamericanexceptionalism

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