38-497: (Redirected from Americanisms ) [REDACTED] Look up Americanism in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Americanism may refer to: American nationalism Any characteristic feature of American English Americanism (ideology) , an early 20th-century ideology frequently posited in opposition to communism or anarchism Pro-Americanism , love, support, or admiration of
76-461: A continued extraordinary role in leading the world towards peace and prosperity and recognizing that leadership is incumbent, depends on, our ability to create partnerships because we can't solve these problems alone." Mitt Romney attacked Obama's statement and argued it showed Obama did not believe in American exceptionalism. Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee said that Obama's "worldview
114-544: A greater emphasis on non-interventionism . American exceptionalism has been a plank of the Republican party platform since 2012. The platform adopted in 2016 defines it as "the notion that our ideas and principles as a nation give us a unique place of moral leadership" and affirms that the U.S. therefore must "retake its natural position as leader of the free world ." The term was adopted by former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney in his 2015 book Exceptional: Why
152-586: A hereditary nobility. As a result, American politics developed around a tradition of 'Lockean' liberalism. Although some European practices of feudal origin, such as primogeniture , were transmitted to America, Hartz argued that their abolition during the American Revolution only confirmed the U.S.' liberalism. The "liberal consensus" school, typified by David Potter , Daniel Boorstin , and Richard Hofstadter followed Hartz in emphasizing that political conflicts in American history remained within
190-769: A singular destiny, linking the United States to the Biblical promised land in the Book of Mormon , with the Constitution of the United States being divinely inspired . Joseph Smith argued that the millennial New Jerusalem was to be built in America (10th Article of Faith ) and reported God as saying "it is not right that any man should be in bondage one to another. And for this purpose have I established
228-500: Is Sherle Schwenninger, a co-founder of the New America Foundation , who in a 2016 Nation magazine symposium remarked, "Trump would redefine American exceptionalism by bringing an end to the neoliberal/neoconservative globalist project that Hillary Clinton and many Republicans support." However, Trump has also advocated an " America First " policy, emphasizing American nationalism and unilateralism , though with
266-432: Is based on liberty , individualism , republicanism , democracy , meritocracy , and laissez-faire economics ; these principles are sometimes collectively referred to as "American exceptionalism". As a term in political science , American exceptionalism refers to the United States' status as a global outlier both in good and bad ways. Critics of the concept claim that the idea of American exceptionalism suggests that
304-524: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Americanism [REDACTED] Look up Americanism in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Americanism may refer to: American nationalism Any characteristic feature of American English Americanism (ideology) , an early 20th-century ideology frequently posited in opposition to communism or anarchism Pro-Americanism , love, support, or admiration of
342-406: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages American exceptionalism Defunct Newspapers Journals TV channels Websites Other Economics Gun rights Identity politics Nativist Religion Watchdog groups Youth/student groups Miscellaneous Other American exceptionalism is the belief that
380-479: Is dramatically different from any president, Republican or Democrat, we've had... He grew up more as a globalist than an American. To deny American exceptionalism is in essence to deny the heart and soul of this nation." In a speech on the Syria crisis on September 10, 2013, Obama said that "however, when, with modest effort and risk, we can stop children from being gassed to death, and thereby make our kids safer over
418-541: The Communist Party USA and who would soon be named as general secretary, described America's economic and social uniqueness. He noted the increasing strength of American capitalism and the country's "tremendous reserve power" and said that they both prevented a communist revolution . In mid-1929, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin , disbelieving that America was so resistant to revolution, denounced Lovestone's ideas as "the heresy of American exceptionalism", which
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#1732797958234456-474: The Communist Party USA , after Lovestone echoed the arguments of other American communists that the U.S. is independent of the Marxist laws of history "thanks to its natural resources, industrial capacity, and absence of rigid class distinctions." The term later moved into general use by intellectuals. The term "American exceptionalism" was rarely used after the 1930s until U.S. newspapers popularized it in
494-501: The United States is either distinctive, unique, or exemplary compared to other nations . Proponents argue that the values , political system , and historical development of the U.S. are unique in human history , often with the implication that it is both destined and entitled to play a distinct and positive role on the world stage. It originates in the observations and writings of French political scientist and historian Alexis de Tocqueville , most notably in his comparison of
532-519: The 1840s to the late 19th century, the McGuffey Readers sold 120 million copies and were studied by most American students. Skrabec (2009) argues the Readers "hailed American exceptionalism, manifest destiny , and America as God's country.... Furthermore, McGuffey saw America as having a future mission to bring liberty and democracy to the world." In June 1927 Jay Lovestone , a leader of
570-479: The 1980s to describe America's cultural and political uniqueness. In 1989, the Scottish political scientist Richard Rose noted that most American historians endorse exceptionalism, and he suggested their reasoning to be as follows: America marches to a different drummer. Its uniqueness is explained by any or all of a variety of reasons: history, size, geography, political institutions, and culture. Explanations of
608-618: The Constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose, and redeemed the land by the shedding of blood" ( D&C 101:79–80). Although officially shunned by the LDS Church, fundamentalist Mormons believe in the White Horse Prophecy , which argues that Mormons will be the ones called upon to preserve the Constitution as it hangs "by a thread". In general, Americans have had
646-609: The Lord's blessings, we must not forget that God created us equal." Putin's views were soon endorsed by future President Donald Trump , who declared the op-ed "a masterpiece." "You think of the term as being beautiful, but all of sudden you say, what if you're in Germany or Japan or any one of 100 countries? You are not going to like that term," Trump said. "It is very insulting, and Putin put it to him about that." Some left-wing American commentators agree with Trump's stance; one example
684-514: The US is better than other countries , has a superior culture, or has a unique mission to transform the planet and its inhabitants. American exceptionalism is a prominent feature of Mormonism . Mormons believe that America is the " promised land " that was settled by Lehi and his fellow Israelites . The concept of the United States as an exceptional society has a long history, sometimes traced back to French writer Alexis de Tocqueville or to
722-576: The United States Pan-Americanism Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Americanism . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Americanism&oldid=1187112640 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
760-483: The United States Pan-Americanism Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Americanism . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Americanism&oldid=1187112640 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
798-561: The United States by non-Americans Americanism (heresy) , a group of related beliefs supporting individualism and the separation of church and state that are regarded as heretical by the Catholic Church "Americanism", a song by MxPx from their album Teenage Politics See also [ edit ] American exceptionalism Americanist (disambiguation) Americanization (disambiguation) Anti-Americanism Comparison of American and British English Culture of
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#1732797958234836-496: The United States by non-Americans Americanism (heresy) , a group of related beliefs supporting individualism and the separation of church and state that are regarded as heretical by the Catholic Church "Americanism", a song by MxPx from their album Teenage Politics See also [ edit ] American exceptionalism Americanist (disambiguation) Americanization (disambiguation) Anti-Americanism Comparison of American and British English Culture of
874-485: The United States is exceptional in that it started from a revolutionary event. He therefore traces the origins of American exceptionalism to the American Revolution , from which the U.S. emerged as "the first new nation" with a distinct ideology , and having a unique mission to transform the world. This ideology, which Lipset called " Americanism ", but is often also referred to as "American exceptionalism",
912-470: The United States with Great Britain and his native France. Tocqueville was the first writer to describe the country as "exceptional" following his travels there in 1831. The earliest documented use of the specific term "American exceptionalism" is by American communists in intra-communist disputes in the late 1920s. Seymour Martin Lipset , a widely cited political scientist and sociologist , argues that
950-644: The World Needs a Powerful America . Scholars have explored possible justifications for the notion of American exceptionalism. Many scholars use a model of American exceptionalism developed by Harvard political scientist Louis Hartz . In The Liberal Tradition in America (1955), Hartz argued that the American political tradition lacks the left-wing/socialist and right-wing/aristocratic elements that dominated in Europe because colonial America lacked feudal traditions, such as established churches, landed estates, and
988-408: The concept of American exceptionalism but avoid the terminology to avoid getting entangled in rhetorical debates. Bernard Bailyn , a leading colonial specialist at Harvard, was a believer in the distinctiveness of American civilization. Although he rarely, if ever, used the phrase "American exceptionalism," he insisted upon the "distinctive characteristics of British North American life." He argued that
1026-539: The concept. The first reference to the concept by name, and possibly its origin, was by the French writer Alexis de Tocqueville in his 1835/1840 work Democracy in America : The position of the Americans is therefore quite exceptional [emphasis added], and it may be believed that no democratic people will ever be placed in a similar one. Their strictly Puritanical origin, their exclusively commercial habits, even
1064-768: The consideration of national "uniqueness." The historian Dorothy Ross points to three different currents regarding unique characteristics. In April 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama responded to a journalist's question in Strasbourg with this statement: "I believe in American exceptionalism, just as I suspect that the Brits believe in British exceptionalism and the Greeks believe in Greek exceptionalism." Obama further noted, "I see no contradiction between believing that America has
1102-494: The country they inhabit, which seems to focus their minds on the pursuit of science, literature, and the arts, the proximity of Europe, which allows them to sometimes neglect these pursuits without relapsing into barbarism, a thousand special causes, of which I have only been able to point out the most important, have singularly concurred to fix the mind of the American upon purely practical objects. His passions, his wants, his education, and everything about him seem to unite in drawing
1140-440: The growth of government in Europe are not expected to fit American experience, and vice versa. However, postnationalist scholars reject American exceptionalism and argue the U.S. did not break from European history and accordingly has retained class-based and race-based differences as well as imperialism and willingness to wage war. In recent years, scholars from numerous disciplines, as well as politicians and commentators in
1178-654: The house of cards of American exceptionalism and the whole system of opportunistic theories and illusions that had been built upon American capitalist 'prosperity'". The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (most commonly known as Mormons or the LDS Church) believes that the Americas, including the United States , are a unique place, populated by a chosen people and the Native Americans are, at least in part, composed of Lamanites and Mormons for
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1216-604: The ideas espoused by the Founding Fathers of the United States during the American Revolution . For example, in August 1861 The Times of London alluded to "the 'exceptionalism', if one may use the word, on which the Americans rather pride themselves" in a discussion of the American Civil War . However, the specific term "American exceptionalism" appears to have originated with American communists in
1254-648: The late 1920s. The earliest documented usage cited by the Oxford English Dictionary is from the Daily Worker , 29 January 1929: "This American 'exceptionalism' applies to the whole tactical line of the Communist International as applied to America." In turn, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin (who was likely aware of this earlier use) condemned the "heresy of American exceptionalism" in a tense discussion with Jay Lovestone of
1292-467: The long run, I believe we should act.... That is what makes America different. That is what makes us exceptional." In a direct response the next day, Russian President Vladimir Putin published an op-ed in The New York Times , articulating, "It is extremely dangerous to encourage people to see themselves as exceptional, whatever the motivation.... We are all different, but when we ask for
1330-573: The natives of the United States earthward; his religion alone bids him turn, from time to time, a transient and distracted glance to heaven. Let us cease, then, to view all democratic nations under the example of the American people. Historian Michael Kammen says that many foreign writers commented on American exceptionalism including Karl Marx , Francis Lieber , Hermann Eduard von Holst , James Bryce , H. G. Wells , G. K. Chesterton , and Hilaire Belloc and that they did so in complimentary terms. The theme became common, especially in textbooks. From
1368-411: The process of social and cultural transmission result in peculiarly-American patterns of education in the broadest sense of the word, and he believed in the unique character of the American Revolution . The term became an issue of contention between the presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain in the 2008 presidential campaign , with McCain criticizing Obama for allegedly disbelieving
1406-539: The traditional media, have debated the meaning and usefulness of the concept. Roberts and DiCuirci ask: Why has the myth of American exceptionalism, characterized by a belief in America's highly distinctive features or unusual trajectory based on the abundance of its natural resources, its revolutionary origins and its Protestant religious culture that anticipated God's blessing of the nation, held such tremendous staying power, from its influence in popular culture to its critical role in foreign policy? Some historians support
1444-540: Was likely a reference to an article published in the Daily Worker earlier that year. The Great Depression in the United States appeared to underscore Stalin's argument that American capitalism falls under the general laws of Marxism. In June 1930, during the national convention of the Communist Party USA in New York, it was declared: "The storm of the economic crisis in the United States blew down
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