American Exceptionalism

Few ideas in American life have been argued over as persistently as the notion that the United States stands apart from other nations. Some locate its uniqueness in the principles set out at the nation's founding, others in its vast natural resources, and others in the Protestant traditions that shaped its beginnings. Volker Depkat does not join any of these camps. He traces the many distinct ways Americans have portrayed their nation as special, treating the debate itself as the subject worth studying.

Depkat makes clear that these stories were never produced by Americans alone. Immigrants from Europe, Africa, and Asia brought their own hopes and fears with them and projected them onto the New World, helping to build the intellectual image of America. Because the country's many communities told the story so differently, they rarely agreed on what their shared experiences meant or how they should be read. Even so, the author finds a common thread running through these accounts: a conviction that the American way of life is universal in scope and oriented toward the future.

Written in clear, engaging prose for general readers and students of American history, the book offers a framework for weighing the strengths of the many interpretations Americans have given to their nation's exceptionalism, rather than a verdict on which one is correct.