American exceptionalism

American Exceptionalism, the idea that the United States and its citizens are superior to all other countries, is a driving force in American society today, which is both positive and negative. As foreshadowed in Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, the early poetry of Phyllis Wheatley, and the work of playwright Arthur Miller, the idea that America is better than other countries has developed and flourished to become a recurring theme in politics today. As Robert R. Tomes states in his essay American…

each other. In document 1 an African American says it might “cement the races into a more compact brotherhood through perfect unity of purpose and patriotic affinity [where white people will]... unloose themselves from the bondage of racial prejudice”(Document 1). This document is saying that working together to achieve the same goal, overseas expansion, could unite the two races and create a brotherhood. Also this…

all, America possesses a deplorable and shameful history in the maltreatment and devaluation of black lives. In Why Precisely Is Bernie Sanders Against Reparations, Ta-Nahesi Coates asserts that because “from 1619 until at least the late 1960s, American institutions, businesses, associations, and governments—federal, state, and local—repeatedly plundered black communities,” reparations are a necessary, “indispensable tools against white supremacy.” Though critiquing Bernie Sanders, an avowed…

traced back to the development that initiated America’s culture in establishing this law. The Anglo-Saxon myth, where freedom and purity is tied to white virtue, became America’s identity. In addition, America was believed to be the New Israel and Americans to be the New Israelites. Jonathan Edwards noted, “America was discovered about the time of reformation, in which God was trying to rescue the world from the depths of darkness and ruin into which it had sunk. Yet, in order to introduce a new…

This backlash caused the U.S. to shift to the right on the ideological spectrum. To a great extent, this accounts for American views on issues including welfare. In other words, because of this shift toward hyper-conservative ideology, the U.S. has stingy need-based welfare compared to other…

murder. Naturally in an American propaganda film, he courageously decides to stand on the side of free speech and to speak out against the authoritarian Nazis. Consequently, this motivated others in the town to rise up against their evil occupiers. Overall, This Land is Mine rallied the American public’s to support the war by showing the free-speechless Nazi society and conveying the ideas of patriotism for one’s country and American exceptionalism. American exceptionalism is the subjective idea…

I chose the topic community life because American people through the ages have changed in a lot of ways, but the one thing that stays the same is the ability to come together to make not only America great but the world as well. This ability makes America a very unique and exquisite place. Whether we are celebrating, mourning or helping those in need, you can always depend on the people to be there. The world benefits from American exceptionalism as well. When a tragedy strikes in other…

According to Jefferson Morley, the author of “Snow-Storm in August, The Struggle for American Freedom and Washington’s Race Riot of 1835,” the land of the free means the United States of America (Morley, 2013). The question that everyone has on their minds is how does the national anthem reflect the idea of freedom of America? Everyone has their own definition of freedom. The meaning of freedom to the Americans is that it allows an individual to break every shackle which holds them from…

An American Slave, Written by Himself” and Henry David Thoreau in “Resistance to Civil Government” and Walden. Frederick Douglass speaks on American exceptionalism and notes slavery as something that does not need to be part of the master narrative. Henry David Thoreau also overturns the idea of American exceptionalism by talking about resisting the government of America. Both men are trying to change something that previously was a fundamental part of the American narrative of exceptionalism. I…

also illustrating how the great American hypocrisy affects this transition. A great example of this comes from two paragraphs discussing her father’s first job at a blood bank. The job is temporary, as he’s trying to get official certification to be a doctor in the United States, but he encounters difficulties. One woman is xenophobic to him, “[requesting] to see an “American” doctor” (Balcita 2006, 1) when he comes to her aid. While this is a prime example of American hypocrisy as I explained…