American exceptionalism is the belief that the United States is distinctive, unique, or exemplary compared to other nations. Proponents argue that the values, political system, and historical development of the U.S. are unique in human history, often with the implication that it is both destined and entitled to play a distinct role on the world stage.Lipset, American Exceptionalism, p. 18.
The term was coined by German Marxists in the 1920s. Focusing on the abundant natural resources in the United States, it was intended as an explanation for why the United States was not experiencing the level of class conflict that existed in Europe. However, the idea of American exceptionalism dates back much further, to French political scientist and historian Alexis de Tocqueville's observations and writings on the United States, most notably in his comparison of the United States with the United Kingdom and his native France. De Tocqueville wrote about the United States as a uniquely free nation based on personal liberty and democratic ideals.
Seymour Martin Lipset, a prominent American political scientist and sociologist, argues that the United States is exceptional in that it started from a revolutionary event. He therefore traces the origins of American exceptionalism to the American Revolution, from which the U.S. emerged as "the first new nation" with a distinct ideology, and having a unique mission to transform the world.Seymour Martin Lipset, The first new nation (1963). This ideology, which Lipset calls "Americanism" but is often also referred to as "American exceptionalism", is based on liberty, individualism, republicanism, democracy, meritocracy, and laissez-faire economics; these principles are sometimes collectively referred to as "American exceptionalism".Lipset, American Exceptionalism, pp. 1, 17–19, 165–74, 197
As a term in political science, American exceptionalism refers to the United States' status as a global outlier both in good and bad ways. Critics of the concept say that the idea of American exceptionalism suggests that the U.S. is better than other countries, has a superior culture, or has a unique mission to transform the planet and its inhabitants.Walt, Stephen M. "The Myth of American Exceptionalism." Foreign Policy (October 21, 2011)
Terminology The concept of the United States as an exceptional society has a long history, sometimes traced back to French writer Alexis de Tocqueville or to the ideas espoused by the Founding Fathers of the United States during the American Revolution.Bernard Bailyn, The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution. p. 92 For example, in August 1861 Economic Daily News of London alluded to "the 'exceptionalism', if one may use the word, on which the Americans rather pride themselves" in a discussion of the American Civil War.
However, the specific term "American exceptionalism" appears to have originated with American communists in the late 1920s. The earliest documented usage cited by the Oxford English Dictionary is from the Daily Worker, January 29, 1929: "This American 'exceptionalism' applies to the whole tactical line of the Communist International as applied to America." In turn, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin (who was likely aware of this earlier use) condemned the "heresy of American exceptionalism" in a tense discussion with Jay Lovestone of the Communist Party USA, after Lovestone echoed the arguments of other American communists that the U.S. is independent of the Marxist laws of history "thanks to its natural resources, industrial capacity, and absence of rigid class distinctions." The term later moved into general use by intellectuals.
The term "American exceptionalism" was rarely used after the 1930s until U.S. newspapers popularized it in the 1980s to describe America's cultural and political uniqueness.
In 1989, Scottish political scientist Richard Rose noted that most American historians endorse exceptionalism, and he suggests their reasoning to be as follows: America marches to a different drummer. Its uniqueness is explained by any or all of a variety of reasons: history, size, geography, political institutions, and culture. Explanations of the growth of government in Europe are not expected to fit American experience, and vice versa.
However, postnationalist scholars reject American exceptionalism and argue the U.S. did not break from European history and accordingly has retained class-based and race-based differences as well as imperialism and willingness to wage war.David W. Noble, Death of a Nation: American Culture and the end of exceptionalism, pp. xxiii ff.
In recent years, scholars from numerous disciplines, as well as politicians and commentators in the traditional media, have debated the meaning and usefulness of the concept. Roberts and DiCuirci ask:
Some historians support the concept of American exceptionalism but avoid the terminology to avoid getting entangled in rhetorical debates. Bernard Bailyn, a leading colonial specialist at Harvard, was a believer in the distinctiveness of American civilization. Although he rarely, if ever, used the phrase "American exceptionalism," he insisted upon the "distinctive characteristics of British North American life." He argues that the process of social and cultural transmission result in peculiarly-American patterns of education in the broadest sense of the word, and he believed in the unique character of the American Revolution.Michael Kammen and Stanley N. Katz. "Bernard Bailyn, Historian, and Teacher: An Appreciation." by James A. Henretta, Michael Kämmen, and Stanley N. Katz, eds. The Transformation of Early American History: Society, Authority, and Ideology (1991) p. 10.
The term became an issue of contention between the presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain in the 2008 presidential campaign, with McCain criticizing Obama for allegedly disbelieving the concept.
History of concept Alexis de Tocqueville and others (1835) The first reference to the concept by name, and possibly its origin, was by de Tocqueville in his 1835/1840 work Democracy in America:
Historian Michael Kammen says that many foreign writers commented on American exceptionalism including Karl Marx, Francis Lieber, Hermann Eduard von Holst, James Bryce, H. G. Wells, G. K. Chesterton, and Hilaire Belloc and that they did so in complimentary terms.Kammen p. 7 The theme became common, especially in textbooks. From the 1840s to the late 19th century, the McGuffey Readers sold 120 million copies and were studied by most American students. Skrabec (2009) argues the Readers "hailed American exceptionalism, manifest destiny, and America as God's country.... Furthermore, McGuffey saw America as having a future mission to bring liberty and democracy to the world."
Communist debate (1927) In June 1927 Jay Lovestone, a leader of the Communist Party USA, describes America's economic and social uniqueness. He notes the increasing strength of American capitalism and the country's "tremendous reserve power" and says that they both prevented a communist revolution.Fried, Albert. Communism in America: a history in documents, pp. 7–8, 19, 82–92. Columbia University Press, 1997. In mid-1929, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, disbelieving that America was so resistant to revolution, denounced Lovestone's ideas as "the heresy of American exceptionalism",Pease, Donald E. Editors: Bruce Burgett and Glenn Hendler. "Exceptionalism", pp. 108–12 , in Keywords for American Cultural Studies. NYU Press, 2007. which was likely a reference to an article published in the Daily Worker earlier that year.
The Great Depression in the United States appeared to underscore Stalin's argument that American capitalism falls under the general laws of Marxism. In June 1930, during the national convention of the Communist Party USA in New York, it was declared: "The storm of the economic crisis in the United States blew down the house of cards of American exceptionalism and the whole system of opportunistic theories and illusions that had been built upon American capitalist 'prosperity'".Johnpoll, Bernard K. A Documentary History of the Communist Party of the United States. Vol. II, Vol. II. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 1994, p. 196.
LDS Church The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) believes that the Americas, including the United States, are a unique place,Articles of Faith 10 populated by a chosen people and the Native Americans are, at least in part, composed of LamanitesIntroduction to The Book of Mormon and Mormons for a singular destiny, linking the United States to the Biblical promised land in the Book of Mormon, with the Constitution of the United States being divinely inspired. Joseph Smith argued that the millennial New Jerusalem was to be built in America (10th Article of Faith) and reported God as saying "it is not right that any man should be in bondage one to another. And for this purpose have I established the Constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose, and redeemed the land by the shedding of blood" (D&C 101:79–80).
Although officially shunned by the LDS Church, fundamentalist Mormons believe in the White Horse Prophecy, which argues that Mormons will be the ones called upon to preserve the Constitution as it hangs "by a thread".
Uniqueness In general, Americans have had the consideration of national "uniqueness." Historian Dorothy Ross points to three different currents regarding unique characteristics. Some Protestants believed American progress would facilitate the return of Jesus Christ and the Christian Millennium. Some 19th-century historians linked American liberty to the development of liberty in Anglo-Saxon England. Other American writers looked to the "millennial newness" of America. Henry Nash Smith stressed the theme of "virgin land" in the American frontier that promised an escape from the decay that had befallen earlier republics.
Obama administration and later
In April 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama responded to a journalist's question in Strasbourg with this statement: "I believe in American exceptionalism, just as I suspect that the Brits believe in British exceptionalism and the Greeks believe in Greek exceptionalism." Obama further noted, "I see no contradiction between believing that America has a continued extraordinary role in leading the world towards peace and prosperity and recognizing that leadership is incumbent, depends on, our ability to create partnerships because we can't solve these problems alone."
Mitt Romney attacked Obama's statement and argued it showed Obama did not believe in American exceptionalism. Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee said that Obama's "worldview is dramatically different from any president, Republican or Democrat, we've had... He grew up more as a globalist than an American. To deny American exceptionalism is in essence to deny the heart and soul of this nation."