Annotated Bibliography
Gingrich, Newt, and Vince Haley. A Nation like No Other: Why American Exceptionalism
Matters. Washington: Regnery, 2011.
A Nation Like No Other: Why American Exceptionalism Matters” by Newt Gingrich
defines what American Exceptionalism truly is. Through discussing America’s unique
status in the world today, Gingrich emphasizes the elements of American culture that
have helped cultivate American exceptionalism. Gingrich strongly promotes the concept
that America’s foundation is rooted in God, family, and individual freedoms all coming
together to create the unifying belief in creating a better tomorrow. By analyzing how
American exceptionalism has boosted America to a global superpower, Gingrich notes
that this success was due to America’s brilliant entrepreneurs and highly industrious
workers.
“INDUSTRIOUSNESS: Definition in the Cambridge English Dictionary.”
INDUSTRIOUSNESS | definition in the Cambridge English Dictionary. Accessed
February 4, 2020. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/industriousness.
The Cambridge English Dictionary provides a literal definition of the word
industriousness. According to the dictionary, industriousness means “the fact of working
hard.” This source provides a point of comparison against Charles Murray’s interpretation
of the word. Using the literal definition for comparison allows for a deeper analysis into
how the trait of American industriousness fits its original meaning.
Murray, Charles A. American Exceptionalism: an Experiment in History. Washington, D.C.: AEI
Press, 2013.
In “American Exceptionalism: An Experiment in History,” Charles Murray outlines the
elements of American exceptionalism pertaining to the traits that he believes define
American society. These traits consist of industriousness, egalitarianism, religiosity, and
philanthropy/volunteerism. Relating to industriousness, Murray notes that it is this trait
that has truly been consistent with American exceptionalism. Going into further detail,
Murray analyzes the trait of industriousness and provides an evaluation of the importance
of industriousness to the growth of American society.
Spalding, Matthew. “Why Is America Exceptional?” The Heritage Foundation, October 1,
2010.https://www.heritage.org/american-founders/report/why-america-exceptional.
Matthew Spalding’s “Why Is America Exceptional” outlines how America’s founding
contributed to America’s modern-day exceptionalism. According to Spalding, “The
Declaration is a timeless statement of inherent rights, the proper purposes of government,
and the limits on political authority” (Spalding, 2010). American ingenuity,
industriousness, and character of its people allowed the United States to become an
industrial, military, powerhouse in the last two hundred years. Spalding emphasizes that
American exceptionalism derives from the individual and what they contribute, rather
than government entities. The key to fully comprehending American industriousness is
recognizing the full potential of the American people and recognizing all the values
enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.
“Charles Murray and the Virtue of Industriousness.” Faith and Public Life, July 20, 2012.
https://faithandpubliclife.com/charles-murray-and-the-virtue-of-industriousness/.
Charles Murray strongly believes that the character and the integrity of the American
people are vital to the prosperity and great emergence of American democracy since
America’s founding. Specific attributes demonstrated by the American people include
honesty, loyalty, and commitment which is shown throughout the years regarding the
country, their religion, their marriages, and the idea to forge a great democratic,
industrious nation. The values of capitalism and free markets have contributed a great
deal of success and prosperity for the average citizen. American society has mastered the
balance between ambitious capitalism and good upstanding character, which in turn is a
recipe for the variety of America’s exceptional traits.
Keller, Jared. “Why Are Americans So Freakishly Optimistic?” The Atlantic. Atlantic Media
Company, March 25, 2015. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/03/the-
american-ethic-and-the-spirit-of-optimism/388538/.
This article heavily outlines the beliefs and opinions of Alexis de Tocqueville and his
observance of early America. Alexis de Tocqueville was astonished by the optimism and
the ambition that the American people demonstrated when fighting for independence and
establishing a new nation across the sea. He also observed a unique behavior that was
demonstrated during times of trouble and great adversity. He saw this concept during two
different times in America’s establishment, during the War for Independence, and the
establishment of governmental institutions. Industriousness was pivotal in fighting off
British tyranny and establishing the greatest republican form of government ever
established for the people. Alex de Tocqueville observed how Americans dealt with times
of struggle and success, but they demonstrated a unique fire within themselves to
overcome great obstacles in the name of democracy and freedom of religion.
“The End of American Exceptionalism?” The Globalist, January 27, 2015.
https://www.theglobalist.com/end-of-american-exceptionalism/.
In this article, the author describes the difference between American exceptionalism and
exceptionalism regarding European nations. American exceptionalism is defined as a
rugged type of exceptionalism, which is founded in individualism, federalism, and
religious liberty. The Europeans associated exceptionalism with monarchies and state
sponsored institutions. European exceptionalism was grounded in institutional greatness,
which sacrificed the full potential of their citizens to be exercised, which is a direct
contradiction to American society. The United States put freedom and protections of the
individual above traditional European fundamental beliefs that included sanctioned
churches, appointed kings, and the ideology of national collectivism. The United States
was focused on a prosperous, industrious populous while Europe was obsessed with
creating a socio-economic elite class. These ideological differences have propelled
America to an individualistic society that prospered while Europe remained stagnant in
their political and economic realities.
Wike, Richard, and Jacob Poushter. “A Look at America's International Image.” Pew Research
Center's Global Attitudes Project. Pew Research Center, December 30, 2019.
https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2016/06/28/americas-international-image/.
In this Pew Research article, they conduct research that correlates civil liberties with
individual incentives to operate effectively in a industrious economy. As the research
states, the United States is far more prosperous economically, and in turn, it shows that
individual Americans across all spectrums are profiting more and are happier about their
quality of life. On the contrary, dozens of European nations have been found to be at a
dissatisfaction with their overall livelihood and economic situation. The pivotal
correlation is that when a society emphasizes individual liberty and industriousness on a
personal level, the people of that nation will prosper more than any other. As the research
shows, Europe has continued to not only lag behind in reforming their societies to a more
individualistic standpoint, but they have neglected to acknowledge that the individual
citizen, not the government, will ultimately dictate the outcome of the quality of life
pertaining to their country.
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