Notes
notes Introduction 1. Though by no means the only three to treat the topic, three prominent articulations can be found in the work of political theorists Michael Oakeshott and Leo Strauss and historian Friedrich Meinecke. See Oakeshott, “Masses in Representative Democracy”; Strauss, “What Is Liberal Education?”; Meinecke, German Catastrophe. 1. The Problem of American Exceptionalism 1. Columnist David Lake marshals statistics to show that, though the reasons behind it vary widely, most Americans “believe” in American exceptionalism. Lake’s aim of establishing consensus amid controversy is laudable, but his efforts fall very short of the mark because he takes for granted the impossibility of narrowing down the meaning of American exceptionalism. See Lake, “Is America Exceptional?” John A. Gans Jr. observes that though many on the political right fault President Obama for his stance “against” American exceptionalism, he seems to discuss the idea and give credence to it extremely often. See Gans, “American Exceptionalism.” 2. Obama answered, I believe in American exceptionalism, just as I suspect that the Brits believe in British exceptionalism and the Greeks believe in Greek exceptionalism. I’m enormously proud of my country and its role and history in the world. . . . And if you think of our current situation, the United States remains the largest economy in the world. We have unmatched military capability. And I think that we have a core set of values that are enshrined in our Constitution, in our body of law, in our democratic practices, in our belief in free speech and equality , that, though imperfect, are exceptional. . . . And so I see no contradiction between believing that America has a continued extraordinary role in leading the world towards peace and prosperity and recognizing that that leadership is incumbent, depends on, our ability to create partnerships.” See White House, Office of the Press Secretary, “News Conference by President Obama.” 3. J. P. Diggins observes that some have used American exceptionalism as a blanket term for “the idea that America is and would continue to be distinct from Europe,” rightly 157 158 Notes to Pages 5–6 noting the widely divergent meanings subsumed under the single term. But Diggins does not clearly delineate the various meanings, only cataloging them without much order. See Diggins, On hallowed Ground, 102ff. 4. Hartz, liberal Tradition in America. I will say more on Hartz’s book later in connection with the theory of history implicit in it. 5. G. K. Chesterton, among others, argues that America is the only country ever to be founded on an idea. Chesterton, What I Saw in America. Daniel Boorstin argues that America is unique just because it never had a political philosophy. See Boorstin, Genius of American Politics. 6. Lipset, American Exceptionalism. 7. Krislov, “American Federalism as American Exceptionalism.” 8. On the role of the frontier, see Turner, “Significance of the Frontier.” The whole genre of economic claims to American exceptionalism was sparked by Werner Sombart in his 1906 Why Is There No Socialism in the United States? For a discussion of this scholarship, see Gerber, “Shifting Perspectives on American Exceptionalism.” On the role of organized labor, see Voss, making of American Exceptionalism. For alternate views, see Wilentz, “Against Exceptionalism”; and Foner, “Why Is There No Socialism?” On the early advent of universal white manhood suffrage, see Katznelson, “Working-Class Formation and the State.” Joseph P. Ferrie notes that upward mobility formerly characterized the American economy but this trend seems to be closing. See Ferrie, “History Lessons.” On economic and natural resource abundance, see Potter, People of Plenty; and Gutfeld, American Exceptionalism. 9. See Kammen, “Problem of American Exceptionalism,” 2. I want to address at the beginning that my use of the general term social scientists is decidedly not a straw man argument. I take up specific and representative arguments of social science. The general term is kept despite the danger of it turning into a straw man because my reasons for rejecting the most common approach of American exceptionalism have to do with the core assumptions of social science in general. Mine, therefore, is a genus-level critique that requires such a term. Despite the terminological similarity, I am not following Dorothy Ross’s arguments about social science and American exceptionalism, though I am aware of them. She first defines the term in this way: This vision of the unique place America occupied in history was the core of a set of ideas I will call American exceptionalism. Standing at the westernmost culmination of European history, the United States would...
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