Are Americans Exceptional?

What is the concept of American exceptionalism?  We can all think of a few individual Americans we know who are anything but exceptional.  There are Americans who are exceptional, Russians who are exceptional, Swedes who are exceptional, etc.  But the concept of American exceptionalism goes beyond the individuals who inhabit a particular country. Instead, it refers to a particular set of values unique to America and not found in other countries worldwide.

American exceptionalism is said to have its origin from the French writer Alexis de Tocqueville and his 1835 United States travelogue, Democracy in America.  Tocqueville only uses the term “exceptional” once in the work when he states, “The position of the Americans is therefore quite exceptional, and it may be believed that no democratic people will ever be placed in a similar one.”  Looking at America from the outside, Tocqueville recognized that America possessed its own characteristics, different from the rest of the world.  Later in history, another well-known figure would utter the phrase “American exceptionalism.”  Communist Dictator Joseph Stalin is reported to have used the term as a form of ridicule when told that Americans were not interested in a communist revolution like the one in the Soviet Union.

What both Tocqueville and Stalin have in common is that both acknowledged that America did not seem to have the problems of their home countries.  That America had unique attributes.  This is true.  It is easy to forget that up until 1776, world history was one in which the few governed the many.  Most people had to live under a system in which they feared their government and had no say in the affairs of the state.  They were expected to live how they were told.

America was founded on a different set of principles.  If there is one theme repeated over and over by the Founding Fathers of our nation, it is that our rights come from God, not from any ruler or government.  This was radical thinking at a time when rulers claimed they were the ones chosen by God to impose any desire they wished over their subjects.  So American exceptionalism is not a concept that Americans are better than citizens of another country, rather it is a recognition that Americans have resisted forces that have become the norm in other countries.  Very simply, the individual’s freedom has been suppressed worldwide.  Not so in America.

Because of the freedom given to its citizens since its founding, America has been in a position to do great things both inside and outside of its borders.  America has given more opportunities to more people than any other country in world history.  Americans are free to worship as they choose, to speak out against their government, and to live almost any way they like.  This freedom has led to periods of great economic boom at home and around the world.  American individuals and companies have produced the majority of the significant innovations in the world over the past 200 years, from the airplane to the television, to the iPhone, to name just a few.

But what makes America truly exceptional is how it has used its own freedoms to help other countries around the world keep theirs.  Every civilization that has wielded great influence over the rest of the world, such as the Roman Empire, used its power for its own selfish purposes.  Countries fought for treasure, land, prestige, or to enslave people.  This is not the history of America.  As an example, America’s involvement in World War II ensured the defeat of imperialist and fascist governments.  Although these victories came at a high cost, America immediately went to work to rebuild these defeated countries and installed free, democratic governments.  Later, it was America that took a leading role in freeing people around the world from the evils of communism.

In 2003, when asked a question about America’s use of power overseas, then-Secretary of State Colin Powell did a masterful job of explaining American history:  “Over the years, the United States has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders.  The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to bury those that did not return.”

America’s history is not perfect, nor should anybody claim it to be.  Moral failings such as slavery and segregation are part of our history.  But to say America is not exceptional because parts of our past tarnish everything else is a disservice to those who courageously tried to overcome these wrongs.  America’s Constitutional Framers had the foresight to create a system of government that ensured change was possible.

History’s exceptions include the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.  This is why Americans must remain forever vigilant in protecting the freedoms these documents enshrine.