Includes bibliographical references (pages [211]-259) and index.
Contents:
The newly chosen nation : exceptionalism from Reagan to Trump. The Puritans and American chosenness -- Looking back, looking forward : remembering the Revolution -- Cultural nationalism and the origins of American exceptionalism -- Lyman Beecher, personal identity, and the Christian republic -- Women and exceptionalism : the self-made woman and the power of Catharine Beecher -- Race, anglo-saxonism, and Manifest Destiny -- In the hands of an angry God : the antislavery Jeremiad and the origins of the Christian nation -- Fin de siècle challenges : the frontier, labor, and American imperialism -- Two isms : Americanism and socialism -- The dream and the century : the liberal exceptionalism of the New Deal state, 1930s-1960s -- The newly chosen nation : exceptionalism from Reagan to Trump.
Summary:
"'American exceptionalism' has been a surprisingly resilient and divisive concept. In this magisterial book, Ian Tyrrell shows that while the term is a relatively new one, the idea that American identity might be historically and globally distinctive emerged with the nation itself. As the country grew, the issue became the degree of exceptionality and how it was expressed. And as the country became a part of the global order, its exceptionalism came increasingly into question. How did a purportedly unique nation explain its entanglement with persistent global topics like slavery and racial discrimination; labor exploitation; settler colonialism; and more? Today, even as demands to honor America's exceptionalism have grown more strident, Tyrrell argues that the material and moral evidence for it-if there ever was any-has withered away"-- Provided by publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.