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, and so on.  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 the United States and not found in other countries worldwide.

American exceptionalism is said to have its origins in the French writer Alexis de Tocqueville’s 1835 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 unique characteristics, distinct from those of 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.  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 state’s affairs.  They were expected to live as 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 their desires on their subjects.  American exceptionalism is not a concept that implies Americans are inherently better than citizens of other countries; rather, it is a recognition that Americans have resisted forces that have become the norm in other countries.  Simply put, individual freedom has been suppressed in far too many places around the world.  Not so in the United States.

Due to the freedom granted to its citizens since its founding, America has been in a position to accomplish great things both within and outside 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 their lives in almost any way they like.  This freedom has led to periods of significant economic growth both domestically and globally.  American individuals and companies have produced the majority of the world’s significant innovations over the past 200 years, from electricity to the airplane to the iPhone, among many others.

However, what makes America truly exceptional is how it has utilized its own freedoms to help other countries around the world maintain theirs.  Every civilization that has wielded significant influence over the rest of the world, such as the Roman Empire, has often used its power for its own selfish purposes.  Countries fought for treasure, land, prestige, or to enslave people.  This is not the history of the United States.  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 rebuilding the defeated countries and installing free, democratic governments.  Later, it was the United States 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.  Without such vigilance, there is no guarantee that the United States will not revert to the historical norm.