American exceptionalism

German professor Sieglinde Lemke argues that the Statue of Liberty represents how the US sees itself as a unique nation and its mission to spread its values across the world.

American exceptionalism is the belief that

1. the US is unique and special
2. the US has a unique mission to transform the world
3. the US is superior to other nations because of its unique history and mission

Unique nation

The US started from the American Revolutionary War. Martin Lipset calls it the "first new nation". It developed an American set of ideas (Americanism) based on republicanism, democracy, laissez-faire (no government interference in economy), liberty, equality, individualism (importance of individual).

Unique mission

Abraham Lincoln said in the Gettysburg address (1863), that Americans have a responsibility to make sure that the "government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

American Exceptionalism Media

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  The Statue of Liberty contains several features commonly associated with American exceptionalism: the date of the U.S. Declaration of Independence, a broken shackle and chain representing the abolition of slavery, and a torch symbolizing enlightenment.

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  Newspaper reporting the annexation of the Republic of Hawaii in 1898. American exceptionalism has fueled American expansion through the ideology of manifest destiny.

Related pages

• American decline
• American imperialism
• Americanism (ideology)
• Americanization
• Americentrism
• Anti-Americanism
• Juche (nationalist North Korean state ideology)
• Sonderweg (German exceptionalism)
• Yamato-damashii (Japanese spirit)
• Nihonjinron (Japanese uniqueness)