Once again, I’m venturing into an area where a lot of people know more than me – American Exceptionalism. Worldcat shows that about 300 books with the words “American Exceptionalism” in the title have been written since 1970. Add 2,000 journal articles and chapters within books. I’ve read a couple of the articles and none of the books. I should probably do that sometime. But anyway, here’s what I think.
According to Wikipedia, American exceptionalism is the idea that the United States is inherently different from other nations. Its proponents argue that the values, political system, and historical development of the U.S. are unique in human history, often with the implication that the country is both destined and entitled to play a distinct and positive role on the world stage.
Alexis De Tocqueville, writing in Democracy in America in the 1830s, was probably the first writer to employ this concept when he wrote “The position of the Americans is . . . quite exceptional, and it may be believed that no democratic people will ever be placed in a similar one.” It became common to refer to the United States with variations of the word “exceptional.” Within a few years, America would adopt the idea of manifest destiny as a guiding principle for its expansion across the continent. This is how newspaper editor John L. O’Sullivan described this idea in 1939:
The far-reaching, the boundless future will be the era of American greatness. In its magnificent domain of space and time, the nation of many nations is destined to manifest to mankind the excellence of divine principles; to establish on earth the noblest temple ever dedicated to the worship of the Most High -- the Sacred and the True. Its floor shall be a hemisphere -- its roof the firmament of the star-studded heavens, and its congregation an Union of many Republics, comprising hundreds of happy millions, calling, owning no man master, but governed by God's natural and moral law of equality, the law of brotherhood -- of "peace and good will amongst men.". . .
He said this more explicitly in 1845, writing in the Democratic Review newspaper:
"our manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions."
According to this point of view, God intended America to become large and powerful. Who are we to argue with God?
The same Wikipedia article I mentioned earlier explains the sources of the idea that America is exceptional:
The absence of a feudal past
The nation’s Puritan roots – including Puritan leader John Winthrop’s description of America as a “City upon a Hill.”
The American Revolution and the tradition of republicanism, along with religious freedom, set America apart from other nations.
Jefferson’s idea of America as the world’s great “Empire of Liberty” and a beacon to the world.
The frontier spirit
America as “the land of opportunity”
The broad sweep of “the American Dream”
American historians, politicians, and textbook writers have emphasized this set of ideas. The goal seems to be to set America apart from previous empires throughout world history, all of which experienced a pattern of rise, stagnation, and fall. The American exceptionalism argument says that the United States can be the “exception” to this pattern because of the unique circumstances of its founding and development over 400 years.
Don’t get me wrong – there’s nothing wrong with loving your country and being a proud citizen. That’s what we call patriotism, and it is helpful when a country is navigating difficult times. In case you need an example, Shay Moss and Lady Ruby are patriots. But there are exaggerated forms of patriotism that are dangerous. All of them give rise to a “my country, right or wrong” attitude – which originated in an 1871 speech by US Senator Carl Schurz (a German immigrant newspaperman who served in the US Senate from 1868-1874 and then as Secretary of the Interior from 1876-1881. Here’s the full text of what he said:
"My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right."
There are other terms that refer to love of country, but are an exaggerated (and sometimes dangerous) form of patriotism:
Nationalism: an aggressive assertion of the interests of one’s own nation as separate from and superior to the interests of other nations or the common interests of all nations. MAGA in all of its glory falls into this category.
Chauvinism: another word for exaggerated or aggressive patriotism. Today, this general term for a general belief in the superiority of one’s own group (and most common today in the term male chauvinist). According to legend, French soldier Nicolas Chauvin was badly wounded in the Napoleonic Wars and received a meager pension for his injuries. After Napoleon abdicated, Chauvin maintained his fanatical Bonapartist belief in the messianic mission of Imperial France, despite the unpopularity of this view under the Bourbon Restoration. His single-minded devotion to his cause, despite neglect by his faction and harassment by its enemies, started the use of the term.
Jingoism: yet another term for an aggressive and proactive foreign policy. A British pub song from the time of the Russo-Turkis War of 1877-78 gave birth to the term.
We don't want to fight but by Jingo if we do We've got the ships, we've got the men, we've got the money too We've fought the Bear before, and while we're Britons true The Russians shall not have Constantinople!
The pop group Jay and the Americans sang about this type of exaggerated patriotism in 1964. (This was an odd name for a pop group in 1964 — and an odd song — if you think about it.) If you're my age you remember it.
Only in America Can a guy from anywhere Go to sleep a pauper and wake up a millionaire Only in America Can a kid without a cent Get a break and maybe grow up to be President Only in America Land of opportunity, yeah Would a classy girl like you fall for a poor boy like me Only in America Can a kid who's washin' cars Take a giant step and reach right up and touch the stars Only in America Could a dream like this come true Could a guy like me start with nothing and end up with you Only in America Land of opportunity, yeah Would a classy girl like you fall for a poor boy like me Only in America (poor boy like me) Only in America (only in America) Only in America (only in America) Only in America (only in America) Only in America (only in America) Only in America.
Some parts of American history support the idea of American Exceptionalism.
The United States was the first large-scale republic of the early modern era. In the 50 years after the American Revolution, most of the colonies in Central and South America became independent and established some form of republic. In the following 150 years, virtually all areas of the world that had been colonized became independent, and virtually all “constitutional monarchs” either stepped down or were deposed. The United States clearly paved the way for the next two centuries of democratic revolution. The significance of this should not be discounted.
Immigrants have come to America in huge numbers throughout its history – most commonly, in search of opportunity and economic prosperity. Not all immigrants achieved what they sought in America, but millions of them did. The significance of this should not be discounted either. A bronze plaque on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty uses Emma Lazarus’s poem The New Colossus to enunciate this promise:
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
But I have to ask – is this history enough to support a continuing belief in American Exceptionalism?
The comparative statistics I’m presenting below suggest that the United States has lost the plot and isn’t fulfilling its original promise. I’ve provided the source for all of these rankings, so you can look at the methodology and decide if you think the ranking is accurate.
Freedom – the United States is ranked #15 for total freedom – #25 for personal freedom and #7 for economic Freedom (https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/freest-countries)
Health Care – the US ranks #18 (https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/best-healthcare-in-the-world)
Democracy – The US ranks #36 (https://www.democracymatrix.com/ranking). The US is now identified as a “deficient democracy.”
Life expectancy – the US ranks #54 (http://www.geoba.se/population.php?pc=world&type=15)
Mobile Internet Speed – the US ranks #28 (https://www.vox.com/2017/6/7/15747486/united-states-developed-world-mobile-internet-speeds-akamai)
Income Equality – the US ranks #31 among the 34 OECD nations – the world’s most developed nations. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_income_equality)
Paid Vacation and Paid Holidays – the US ranks dead last among the OECD nations. It isn’t even close (https://20somethingfinance.com/american-hours-worked-productivity-vacation/)
Maternity Leave – alone among developed countries, the US guarantees no paid maternity leave (https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/maternity-leave-by-country)
Paid Sick Leave – among developed countries, the US ranks dead last in the provision of paid sick leave https://cepr.net/documents/publications/paid-sick-days-2009-05.pdf
For some of these measures, it is true that states provide for some of these benefits. But the benefits are provided inconsistently and in general, don’t measure up to what is standard throughout the rest of the world.
Are there any categories for which the US is ranked at the top or near the top? Yes, yes there are.
First, the good news:
Education – the US ranks #1 (https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/education-rankings-by-country)
The US also ranks high in some areas that aren’t cause for pride:
Military Spending — the US ranks #1 (https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/military-spending-by-country). Although this might be a point of pride for some people, I count it as a negative because it takes up around 50% of all discretionary federal spending (spending that is subject to appropriations — doesn’t include entitlements, payment on the national debt, and other mandatory payments.) This money could be used to solve some of the problems listed above, where the United States isn’t keeping up with the rest of the world.
Incarceration rate – the US ranks #1 (https://www.sentencingproject.org/criminal-justice-facts/)
General Ignorance rate – the US ranks #2 (https://rankingamerica.wordpress.com/2014/10/30/the-u-s-ranks-2nd-in-ignorance/). I didn’t know that this was a thing.
Obesity rate – the US is #1 among the world’s developed nations, although it is #12 overall. The first 11 countries on the list are Nauru, Cook Islands, Palau, Marshall Islands, Tuvalu, Niue, Tonga, Samoa, Kiribati, Micronesia, and Kuwait. (https://obesity.procon.org/global-obesity-levels/)
Given all of this, the final ranking I’m going to show you isn’t surprising at all.
“Happiness” – the US ranks #16 (https://www.statista.com/statistics/1225047/ranking-of-happiest-countries-worldwide-by-score/). This is not surprising, given where the US stands in the other measures. I think this rating reveals the contradiction between the ideal of American Exceptionalism and the reality of the current situation in America, which isn’t so good.
The United States may at one point have been exceptional, but it seems to have lost its way. How did this happen? As I said earlier, a lot of people have studied this more than I have. As an amateur historian and an observer, but not an expert on this topic, here are some of my thoughts:
The United States has created an idol out of its Constitution. The US Constitution is frequently lauded as the “oldest Constitution in the world.” This claim is true (except for San Marino, which I’m not going to count because the country has like 12 people or something). This is seen as a sign of stability – but it may be more a sign of inflexibility. Modern Americans know more about almost everything – geography, science, math, medicine, psychology, government, astronomy, history, technology – than even the smartest of the Founding Fathers. They were the products of the times in which they lived, but, let’s face it, they didn’t know squat about a lot of things. We now know better – but our Constitution keeps us from doing better. Other countries make major changes in their constitutions (or adopt new ones) as their needs change. We won’t – or can’t – do that. We’re stuck with creaky institutions that don’t meet our needs.
The United States has fetishized its past. “The Land of Opportunity,” “Nation of Immigrants,” “The American Dream,” “The Frontier Spirit,” “American Individualism,” “Making the World Safe for Democracy,” “The Free World,” and similar slogans have become the foundation of our national identity, and we don’t know who we are without them. We can’t admit national error. Our history textbooks engage in “heroification” of the most vile people in our history (think Christopher Columbus, Andrew Jackson, or Woodrow Wilson), downplay generational atrocity (think slavery), avoid acknowledging genocide (think Native Americans), and dismiss wholesale killing of civilians in wartime (think Hiroshima) because an admission of national error would challenge our unifying slogans. We can’t admit we were ever wrong, even when we were demonstrably wrong. Donald Trump’s campaign slogan “Make America Great Again” is just more fetishization of an imaginary past when America could do no wrong. When you refuse to acknowledge what has gone wrong, slogans seem to be an easy solution to your problems. It’s not surprising that the core base of Trump supporters is made up of white men who squawk about being “replaced” by people who are neither white nor male.
Failure to admit any failures makes addressing our problems virtually impossible. The first step in any 12-step recovery program is to admit you have a problem. Until we admit that, we can’t fix anything.
This is all I have right now. I hope I’ve given you something to think about. I’m planning to do some reading about this issue and get back to it sometime. It might be the basis of a future Osher class. Stay tuned.
When I first heard the term, American Exceptionalism, I was taken aback. I found the phrase contrary to everything I felt about myself, but also so much about my own country. I love my country, but I know just enough history to understand that, though we have been extremely fortunate in many ways, we are far from exceptional, because we are just human. Human beings are fallible, and unless we accept that and work to understand how to improve our fallibilities, we will never be exceptional.