American Exceptionalism? What Does it Mean?
The idea of America as an exceptional nation originated with the French author Alexis de Tocqueville, in his 1831 work Democracy in America. Tocqueville argued that America, born of revolution, infused with Puritanism and oriented towards commerce and "purely practical objects" was a new thing in the world.
The term lives on to this day, but it has morphed into many different definitions. George W Bush, for instance, believed that American exceptionalism implied an obligation to spread democracy throughout the planet, though Tocqueville himself said, "Let us cease, then, to view all democratic nations under the example of the American people".
There are perhaps as many definitions of American exceptionalism as their are Americans. We are the nation, for instance, that twice shed blood in order to bring peace and order to Europe. And we are the first, when disaster strikes anywhere on the globe, to selflessly lend aid.
When I think of American exceptionalism, I think of the Bill of Rights - a charter of freedom unequalled anywhere else in the world. And I think of firefighters from Los Angeles, with their rescue dogs, toiling without compensation to unearth victims of an earthquake in Haiti.
What do you think about when you consider how exceptional we are as a nation and a people?
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Sep '10
Re: American Exceptionalism? What Does it Mean?
It's exceptional that when we defeat a nation or an axis of powers, instead of making the beaten entities our satellite countries or possessions, we help rebuild them to give them at least a chance to be stable, free nations. No other superpower in history has operated in this way.
I also think of the fantastic resilience of our exceptional economy, in that it has absorbed all sorts of heavy blows and is still not down for the count. The Obama Regime has underestimated this sturdiness, to its utter frustration, I think.
Finally, as you mentioned, Kenneth, there is no doubt that our form of government and especially the Constitution, as formulated by the Founding Fathers, is obviously exceptional. The Founding Fathers were smart, thorough, and visionary.
Jan '11
Re: American Exceptionalism? What Does it Mean?
The exceptionalism comes naturally. We are heirs of the European heritage, without much of the baggage. We keep the benefits of western civilization, but we aren't bogged down by class struggles.
We have a society which is (until recently perhaps) dominated by the private sector, freed from the smothering effect of self-aggrandizing monarchs and aristocracy.
Most of the rest of the world is restrained by elites who shudder in horror about what might happen if you allow the ... rabble ... to be unleashed. Well, in our country, the rabble didn't do so badly. We did better than the aristocrats did, and now they petition us to protect them.
Aug '10
Re: American Exceptionalism? What Does it Mean?
I sometimes wonder if the whole "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" idea is literally in our DNA. Call it the American gene.
Think about it. This country was built by adventurers and free thinkers, self-reliant people of action. They had the guts to leave a home country, sail across an ocean and start over - from scratch. Those men and women are our ancestors.
And the folks they left behind? That's who built modern day Europe.
Jul '10
Re: American Exceptionalism? What Does it Mean?
Songwriter: I sometimes wonder if the whole "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" idea is literally in our DNA. Call it the American gene.
Think about it. This country was built by adventurers and free thinkers, self-reliant people of action. They had the guts to leave a home country, sail across an ocean and start over - from scratch. Those men and women are our ancestors.
And the folks they left behind? That's who built modern day Europe. · May 3 at 8:03am
Unfortunately, these days it works the other way around. Those who manage to establish a stable existence in Central and South America stay home. Those without education, skills and prospects stream across the border in pursuit of work and welfare.
Aug '10
Re: American Exceptionalism? What Does it Mean?
Kenneth
Songwriter: I sometimes wonder if the whole "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" idea is literally in our DNA. Call it the American gene.
Think about it. This country was built by adventurers and free thinkers, self-reliant people of action. They had the guts to leave a home country, sail across an ocean and start over - from scratch. Those men and women are our ancestors.
And the folks they left behind? That's who built modern day Europe. · May 3 at 8:03am
Unfortunately, these days it works the other way around. Those who manage to establish a stable existence in Central and South America stay home. Those without education, skills and prospects stream across the border in pursuit of work and welfare. · May 3 at 8:10am
Scary, ain't it?
May '10
Re: American Exceptionalism? What Does it Mean?
I think the Bill of Rights is perhaps the ultimate legal origin of American exceptionalism. If interpreted literally, it provides for a robust protection of civil liberties, which is the reason why America can be considered exceptional. Hence the exceptionalism of America is not exclusive in that no other natin can qualify as exceptional.
Apr '11
Re: American Exceptionalism? What Does it Mean?
America is exceptional because it's our creation, rather than our legacy.
I spoke to a European once about this - I think he was Hungarian, but I can't remember for sure - and he told me that Americans often asked him, "How do you like America?" He was always taken aback by the question. Europeans would never think of asking this about their own countries. It would be like, he said, asking another man, "How do you like my wife?"
But Americans ask this all the time. And the reason gets to the heart of American exceptionalism: it's our creation. When you build a chair, or write a novel, or cook a tasty meal, naturally you seek validation by seeing how others like it. It's that way with America: we've created this country, this idea. The only requirement for membership is sharing the idea.
That's why patriotism and nationalism, which are conjoined in most countries, are not equivalent in America. Nationalism is much weaker here, because our nationhood is defined by the idea, not by ancient blood lines.
Aug '10
Re: American Exceptionalism? What Does it Mean?
Yabbut... was Hamilton right?
"I go further, and affirm that bills of rights, in the sense and in the extent in which they are contended for, are not only unnecessary in the proposed constitution, but would even be dangerous. They would contain various exceptions to powers which are not granted; and on this very account, would afford a colourable pretext to claim more than were granted. For why declare that things shall not be done which there is no power to do? Why for instance, should it be said, that the liberty of the press shall not be restrained, when no power is given by which restrictions may be imposed? I will not contend that such a provision would confer a regulating power; but it is evident that it would furnish, to men disposed to usurp, a plausible pretence for claiming that power."
There's stuff about Hamilton I don't like, but I feel he was prescient on this matter.
Mar '11
Re: American Exceptionalism? What Does it Mean?
I agree with James.
I have lived in Europe for eight years now. The exceptional attribute of America, whose absence I sense here everyday, is that America is organized first and foremost around a set of ideals. Although each country here also has its own set of lofty principles, believing in "liberte, fraternite, et egalite" does not make one a Frenchman, but rather being a Frenchman leads one to possess these characteristics (sometimes). Although the idea that we as Americans are united by intellectual concepts and not culture or identity seems obvious from the Western side of the Atlantic, it does have a profound effect on everything from the daily lives of each citizen to foreign policy and beyond.
Of course, the rub is that our set of "American" ideals are different from one person to the next, as Kenneth points out. However, I postulate that simply defining ourselves by values first, even if these values are drastically different within the American population, is enough to keep our country together and strong for many more centuries.
Apr '11
Re: American Exceptionalism? What Does it Mean?
Rattlesnake: Here's a mental image for you. Our rights are a balloon; government is someone squeezing the balloon. In a perfect world, government would merely support the balloon at whatever level of pressure to which it was inflated. In reality, though, government squeezes ever tighter. The value of the Bill of Rights is the air that it fills the balloon with.
Hamilton's argument appears to be that by listing the positive rights, we implicitly give up all other rights. Maybe so, but his implication, then, is that by not listing those rights, they are somehow stronger. This is where the argument falls down, IMO. Most other countries do not have explicit Bills of Rights, and their governments feel much more free to violate them. When France decides to ban religious dress, for example, it does so. There is no Constitutional restraint at all.
Jul '10
Re: American Exceptionalism? What Does it Mean?
James Jones: Rattlesnake: Here's a mental image for you. Our rights are a balloon; government is someone squeezing the balloon. In a perfect world, government would merely support the balloon at whatever level of pressure to which it was inflated. In reality, though, government squeezes ever tighter. The value of the Bill of Rights is the air that it fills the balloon with.
Hamilton's argument appears to be that by listing the positive rights, we implicitly give up all other rights. Maybe so, but his implication, then, is that by not listing those rights, they are somehow stronger. This is where the argument falls down, IMO. Most other countries do not have explicit Bills of Rights, and their governments feel much more free to violate them. When France decides to ban religious dress, for example, it does so. There is no Constitutional restraint at all. · May 3 at 10:44am
And because other countries lack a Bill of Rights, when a policeman wants to enter your home, his warrant is the butt of his gun.
Feb '11
Re: American Exceptionalism? What Does it Mean?
It isn't merely the Bill of Rights. It is the Constitution itself. It is written. It is taken seriously. Britain's constitution is not written though people speak of it and take it seriously. Latin American countries have had written constitutions, but often they are not taken seriously with one replacing another. The Soviet Union had a constitution that made it far more democratic than the United States, yet there was no rule of law in the Soviet Union.
It is this institution with its three separate branches, elections on a calendar basis rather than being able to dissolve governments only at the discretion of the ruling party, requirement for census that allows redistribution of congressional power and power to choose the President, and ability to incorporate territory with its citizens having all the rights of those who were already citizens. This combination makes us unique and has led to a powerful nation. It is Bush's call for universalism that will inevitably lead to hubris and downfall.
Apr '11
Re: American Exceptionalism? What Does it Mean?
I have to admit that I disagree with those who point to a document (the Constitution, the Bill of Rights) as being the source of American exceptionalism. Those are symptoms, not causes. That is, we are not exceptional because we have those documents. Those documents exist and are given importance because we are exceptional - and we are because of the reasons I gave in my previous post.
When other countries write down similar documents, they are engaging in cargo cultism, as if by building an airport, planes will automatically come. Of course, countries that already have Western ideas can approximate our institutions. But they do so because of the ideas, not because of the documents.
Re: American Exceptionalism? What Does it Mean?
I think the most exceptional idea to come from the American founding and tradition is that all men are created equal. It's a concept that has worked itself out in powerful ways throughout this country's history.
I also think that what Tocqueville called "the art of association" has made America pretty exceptional. As Paul Rahe wrote on Power Line a few years back, Tocqueville noticed that Americans
While this aspect of our identity has diminished some since Tocqueville wrote down his observations, I still think the art of association is more pronounced in America than it is anywhere else in the world.
Aug '10
Re: American Exceptionalism? What Does it Mean?
How about the ability to suffer bad governance and recover ? Hopefully that is something successively nongenerational.
Jul '10
Re: American Exceptionalism? What Does it Mean?
As often happens, my post is somewhat ill-crafted. I know Ricochet has a very cosmopolitan membership. Many of us travel widely and/or have lived in other countries.
I'm curious about how we experience the difference between America and other places.
Two examples from my own experiences in Italy: policemen walking the beat in Florence carried automatic rifles; I found that disquieting. And friends in Italy never discussed politics; there seemed to be an unspoken understanding that all politicians were corrupt, that one's vote didn't matter and that it was silly to think otherwise.
Aug '10
Re: American Exceptionalism? What Does it Mean?
I have always been uneasy around Mexican police in coastal towns with automatic weapons. I believe once I saw a kid in Zihuatanejo with no shoes , an old Sten automatic or something and patrolling the streets. It was one of those mornings when they had devalued the peso overnight and the townspeople came in early to do their banking and shopping before the tourists got wise. Were they suspecting unrest I wish !! That would have been novel.
But, it's another metric in the equation you have proposed. And in times like that, wistfulness for home and pride in birthright are strong.
Or look into the eyes of Iraqi men anytime . Imagine living in fear .
I wonder if Mexican eyes now have the same signature , como triste .....
Edited on May 4, 2011 at 8:26amMay '10
Re: American Exceptionalism? What Does it Mean?
I agree with James' comments. America emerged before the Constitution was written and continues to exist beyond, if not wholly separate, from government.
Mendel:
However, I postulate that simply defining ourselves by values first, even if these values are drastically different within the American population, is enough to keep our country together and strong for many more centuries.
I disagree. America prospered while its various subcultures shared a common cultural foundation. That the Constitution no longer represents the most basic values of many citizens signals a disunity which must be mended or will tear the country apart.
A Swede recently told me he thought it strange that "the land of freedom" would practice such restrictive property laws. In Europe, backpackers waltz across strangers' land and even camp there, assuming permission unless informed otherwise. Here, I responded, a man is king of his own castle. Respect for property is essential to freedom. That public land is treated like private property these days is a sign of America's political decay.
At its most generic, America is a higher standard of freedom. Only in a America did a popular movement arise in the wake of economic trouble to demand less government.
Jun '10
Re: American Exceptionalism? What Does it Mean?
It's funny that you should mention Iraq. I remember that one of the first obstacles we ran into during reconstruction was the fact that Iraq hadn't had any sort of civilian mail system since the early 80's; Hussein outlawed private mail service pretty early on after the coup. Iraq is demographically a very young country due to the fact that almost an entire generation of young men was killed during the Iran-Iraq War, so most people didn't even have a concept of what mail service was. How can you run a country without mail? That level of intrusiveness just seems so emblematic of everything we stand against. When I was still young in the Army I had a couple of buddies who escaped to the U.S. from East Germany and Yugoslavia, respectively, and they both used to tell me stories of how terrible it was to live under that constant weight of oppression. I could sympathize, but never really understand, because I had no basis for comparison. Seeing Iraq in the aftermath of the invasion finally gave that to me.
Aug '10
Re: American Exceptionalism? What Does it Mean?
Here's something all Americans have done, and no foreigner ever does: make up comedy commercials.