PLCY 702
Enduring Principles, Unsettled Questions:
Submitted to Dr.
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of
PLCY
The Foundation Era
By
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“American exceptionalism” is an important topic in American political discourse. It is a belief
among Americans that America “is superior to other nations: a providential nation that is the
greatest on earth with an exceptional role to play.”1 The idea of American exceptionalism equates
to excellence, power, and Providential treatment. It sets the public’s high expectations of
government in addressing domestic and foreign policy issues. Critics use the American
exceptionalism idea as a yardstick to measure the government’s performance and integrity. The
President, who is at the center of public accountability, bears the ultimate judgment of the public
when weighed against certain expectations of “American exceptionalism.”
In his book A New Foreign Policy: Beyond American Exceptionalism world-renowned
economist Jeffrey Sachs criticized the (U.S.) government’s inferior ability in handling the
diplomatic conflict, terrorism, trade conflicts, and economic recession.2 Sachs analyses casts a
shame to American Exceptionalism. He argues that America's understanding of America's
exceptionalism is mal-informed, dangerous, and anachronistic. It (America) went to wars using
God's name and believed it received God’s approval for pursuing wars to justify such acts.3
A review of Sachs’s book by Ecke (2019), Bula (2019), offers appreciation to Sachs’s analysis
and exposition among a handful of others.4, 5 Other scholars like Hosti (2011) who reviewed
Obama’s foreign policy, are quick to provide criticisms as failing to meet the American
exceptionalist ideals.6
While authors and scholars like O’Connor, Sachs and others provide discrete analysis of events
in the light of American exceptionalist expectations, they offer little guidance on how best to
understand American exceptionalism. It is the “how-to”, not the “what” that gives the right
perspective of American exceptionalism.
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This short essay aims to deepen American exceptionalism by reviewing some key issues of the
U.S. constitution, government, and society.
Understanding the evolution of American society and constitutional history reveals the important
elements of American exceptionalism. In 1630, approaching the shores of New England aboard
Arabella, John Winthrop read his vision of a model of a God-believing America “City Upon a
Hill”—a phrase that foreshadowed the birth of American Exceptionalism (Parker, 1957).7 Little
did Winthrop, a Puritan leader who became governor of Massachusetts, knew the City Upon a
Hill have come to mark America’s excellence and superiority that exalts God and His Providence
the world looked up to. Winthrop’s act appears to have a prophetic impact on American soil
parallel to Joshua’s invasion of Jericho recorded in Joshua 6:1–27 (NIV). Like Joshua,
Winthrop’s City upon a Hill translated into his model of Christian governance (called Model of
Christian Charity) has come to demonstrate God’s power and remind humanity about the grand
truth of God’s offer of grace and salvation. In 1787 Benjamin Franklin used the word
"exceptionalism" to describe his vision of a God-believing nation with America reflecting
Winthrop’s City upon a Hill to play essential role in bringing enlightenment and achieving an
orderly and functioning creation (Madsen, 1998).8
Only a few realize that the term "federalism" used in the US constitution has a profound
Christian meaning. The term “federalism” does not only mean a system of government based on
the separation of powers but in the US, it is a derivative of the word “covenant” which in older
Bible translations was synonymous to the word “testament.”9 According to Fischer (1998), the
term "federal" is derived from the Latin word “foedus” which means “covenant” in the Vulgate
Old Testament Bible.
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Beyond the diminutive meaning of the term, it is essential to understand how the word “federal”
or the Biblical word “covenant” meaningfully captures the process of Constitutional
development. It is easy to look at the US Constitution as an imitation of the Magna Carta of the
Imperial British the US has been subjected to, or other constitutions produced by an expert or a
composite body to become a national document.
The US Constitution, on the other hand, evolved from a different path that embodied a direct
contribution from the States. Lutz (1998:102) notes, "the idea for a written national constitution,
as well as basic elements and institutions within it, come from the state documents."10 While the
development of state constitutions merits a separate discussion, one must appreciate that the state
constitutions formed the building blocks of the US national constitution developed in most parts
during two centuries before the First Constitutional Convention. The state constitutions
(covenants) were pulled together into a federal constitution (covenant) through the Constitutional
Conventions, a process different from the development of Magna Carta, the declaration of
independence, or even the Charter of the United Nations. Proponents of covenantal theology
makes a point in claiming that the evolution of the US national constitution is characteristic of
the formation of the Bible, a composition of sixty-six small books developed in various times, by
different authors, and different locations pulled together into one coherent Book, a covenantal
document.
Faith in God played a role in the constitutional development process. According to Dreisbach
(2011), the Founding Fathers used the Bible frequently during their sessions, reciting Christian
prayers during meetings, designating periods of prayer and fasting, and quoting Bible verses
regularly to invoke spiritual authority, define standards of conduct, and enrich their polemics.11
Beyond the routine exercise of uttering God’s Word, special prayers were offered at the start of
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the Conventions and during special events indicating deep faith in God and the Bible (Madsen,
1998).12 Yet, even adopting the Bible as the emblem of faith, the Founding Fathers remain deeply
committed to the exercise of religious freedom and civil liberties. They sought not to create a
Christian confessional state that other nations would have done so in their interest to protect their
brand of confessionalism. On January 16, 1786, the Virginia Declaration of Rights was passed
into law a month later, guaranteeing freedom of religion that became a blueprint for the
Declaration of Independence proclaimed by Thomas Jefferson. These events had served as legal
precursors to the Constitution’s Bill of Rights written three years later by James Madison
(Virginia Declaration of Rights. n.d.).13
Although the “separation of church from state” clause does not appear in the Constitution, the
First Amendment-establishment clause was intended to prevent the government from promoting
or inhibiting the exercise of religion. Madison maintains faith as a matter of individual choice
and conscience and the state must ensure the exercise of religious freedom from the impact of
state laws. Smith (1983:83) surveys several Court cases that upheld the church's right against
general state policies.14 For instance, in Sherbert v. Verner, Supreme Court ruled in favor of the
Seventh-day Adventist’s that was terminated for failing to report to work on Saturday, a day
considered sacred non-working day by the SDAs. The Supreme Court ordered the former
employer to pay damages to the terminated employee. In Wisconsin v. Yoder, the Court ruled in
favor of Amish parents who declined to send their children to school beyond 8th grade.
In keeping with the commitment to religious freedom and separation of the Church and State, the
Court also ruled out against religious practices in public schools and defunded state benefits such
as salary subsidies previously provided to religious workers indicating the commitment of the
state to remain neutral and respectful of all religious belief. Critics portray the perceived division
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among Christian religions in America with a negative meaning, an issue that prompted Liebman,
Sutton and Wuthnow (1988) study to understand the underlying causes of split among Christian
denomination in America.15 Liebman, Sutton and Wuthnow study involving over 175 sects and
55 schisms among major protestant groups confirms Niebuhr’s theory that the split of Christian
religions in America is due to social and organizations factors rather than based on doctrine.16
Based on Liebman, Sutton and Wuthnow study, the overall unity of Christian religions in
America remains intact. This can be seen in the proliferation of ecumenical movements in the
20th century.
In addition to socio-cultural exceptionalities, Alexis de Tocqueville (1835-1840), during his
adventure to America, noted some unique features of American democracy that he described with
the phrase “equality of conditions.” Although the conditions for equality were not perfect,
Tocqueville thought the basic elements of democracy that guaranteed equality existed more than
what he saw in Europe. He said, "The more I studied American society, the more I saw equality
of conditions as the creative element from which each particular fact derived, and all my
observations constantly returned to this nodal point." Tocqueville saw the foundation for long-
term solutions to legal rights problems through the structure of democratic government built by
the Founding Fathers he did not find in his homeland. Tocqueville was also impressed by
people’s belief in God and their notion of divine rights (Lawrence, eds., 1966; Stourzh, 2007).17,18
Literature points to the influence of the Puritans and Reformists in re-orienting the nation to a
belief in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, where Founding Fathers like Woodrow Wilson used Biblical
principles to set a high standard of conduct in the public service.19 Through Woodrow Wilson,
Americans became exceptionally recognized for the establishment of the League of Nations. In
contemporary times, American exceptionalism is evident in many areas such as medicine (Liu
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and Hollier, 2018),20 math and statistics, economics, finance, political economy, education,
economics, and law (Ramrattan and Szenberg, 2019).21
Critics insist American exceptionalism described above are not uncommon to many nations of
the world. Most countries have Bill of Rights that guarantees equal protection of rights and a
bicameral legislature that ensure laws are protected against partisanship. Justice Antonin Scalia
praised Russia’s Bill of Rights for protecting individual rights and the strong bicameral
legislature of the Britain for ensuring adequate debate and representation of the British society
during the enactment of laws. But as Scalia reviews, the system of government in both countries
—as in many countries in Europe provides unlimited power to one branch that can change the
fundamental structure of their government at the expense of democracy which is not the case of
the American experiment.22 Instead, the Founding Fathers sought to protect the stability of
American democracy from partisanship by providing equal but limited powers to the three
branches of government. Contrary to contemporary criticism, Scalia offers an alternative
approach to understanding American exceptionalism by looking at significant elements that
impact democracy in substantial ways. Evaluating current issues such as economic recession or
particular behavior of one President and brand them as un-American exceptionalism would not
offer insightful solutions.
American exceptionalism is truly exceptional. As Tocqueville notes, "So, the situation of the
American is entirely exceptional, and it may be believed that no democratic people will ever be
put in the same situation. Their entirely Puritan origin, their uniquely commercial habits, even
the country they inhabit... so let us stop seeing all democratic nations with the face of the
American people and let us try finally to consider them with their own features."23
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References
Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, translated by G. Lawrence, eds. J. P. Mayer and
Max Lerner (Harper & Row, New York, 1966; Collins/Fontana Library, London, 1968),
Vol. I, pp. 9–19. Originally written 1835.
Bula, Michal. “Sachs, Jeffrey D.: A New Foreign Policy: Beyond American Exceptionalism.”
A Book Review. Mezinárodní vztahy. (2019): 1–4.
Dreisbach, Daniel L. “The Bible in the Political Rhetoric of the American Founding.”
Politics and Religion, 4 (2011), 402.
Ecke, Jonas. 2019 "Jeffrey Sachs, A New Foreign Policy: Beyond American Exceptionalism
(2018)," Markets, Globalization & Development Review: Vol. 4: No. 4, Article 4.
DOI: 10.23860/MGDR-2019-04-04-04.
Fischer, Kahlib J., "Biblical Principles of History & Government" (1998). Faculty Dissertations.
37. https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/fac_dis/37.
Holsti, K. J. “Exceptionalism in American Foreign Policy: Is It Exceptional?” European
Journal of International Relations 17, no. 3 (September 2011): 381–404.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1354066110377674.
Liebman, Robert, C., Sutton, John R., and Wuthnow, Robert. "Exploring the Social Sources of
Denominationalism: Schisms in American Protestant Denominations, 1890-1980."
American Sociological Review, June 1988, Vol. 53, No. 3 (June 1988), pp. 343-352.
Liu, G. & Hollier, L. H. 2018. Review of “American Exceptionalism and the American Surgical
Association. Journal of Craniofacial Surgery, 29(5), 1384.
Doi: 10.1097/SCS.0000000000004659.
Lutz, Donald S. 1980. "From Covenant to Constitution in American Political Thought." Publius,
Autumn, 1980, Vol. 10, No. 4, Covenant, Polity, and Constitutionalism. Oxford
University Press. 101-133.
Madsen, Deborah, L. 1998. “American Exceptionalism.” University of Mississippi Press
Jackson. 36.
Michael E. Smith. “The Special Place of Religion in the Constitution.” The Supreme Court
Review Volume 1983. The University of Chicago.
https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/scr.1983.3109475
O’Toole, Patricia. 2018. “The Moralist: Woodrow Wilson and the World He Made.” Vol. First
Simon & Schuster hardcover edition. New York: Simon & Schuster. 4. Accessed from
https://bit.ly/3y2OfhG dated May 8, 2021.
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Parker, Michael. 1957. “John Winthrop, 1588-1649. Founding the City upon a Hill.” New York:
Routledge. 222 pp.
Primary Documents in American History. “Virginia Declaration of Rights.” n.d. Accessed from
https://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/mason.html#American May 10, 2021.
Ramrattan, Lall, & Szenberg, Michael. 2019. American Exceptionalism- Economics, Finance,
Political Economy, and Economic Laws. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. 385.
https://doi-org.ezproxy.liberty.edu/10.1007/978-3-030-05557-8
Sachs, Jeffrey. 2018. "A New Foreign Policy: Beyond American Exceptionalism." New York:
Columbia University Press. Retrieved May 12, 2021, from
http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7312/sach18848.
Scalia, Antonin. "On American Exceptionalism delivered." October 5, 2011. Video 7:15.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ggz_gd--UO0.
Stourzh, Gerald. “From Vienna to Chicago and Back: Essays on Intellectual History and Political
Thought in Europe and America 2007.” Chicago Scholarship Online: March 2013.
DOI: 10.7208/Chicago/9780226776385.001.0001
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Notes
1 O'Connor, Brendon. 2019. “Anti-Americanism and American Exceptionalism: Prejudice and Pride about
the USA” (1st ed.). Ch. 5. Routledge. https://doi-org.ezproxy.liberty.edu/10.4324/9780429277436.
2 Sachs, Jeffrey. 2018. "A New Foreign Policy: Beyond American Exceptionalism." New York: Columbia
University Press. Retrieved May 12, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7312/sach18848.
3 Sachs, Jeffrey. 2018. "A New Foreign Policy: Beyond American Exceptionalism." 2.
4 Ecke, Jonas. 2019 "Jeffrey Sachs, A New Foreign Policy: Beyond American Exceptionalism (2018),"
Markets, Globalization & Development Review: Vol. 4: No. 4, Article 4.
DOI: 10.23860/MGDR-2019-04-04-04.
5 Bula, Michal. “Sachs, Jeffrey D.: A New Foreign Policy: Beyond American Exceptionalism.”
A Book Review. Mezinárodní vztahy. (2019): 1–4.
6 Holsti, K. J. “Exceptionalism in American Foreign Policy: Is It Exceptional?” European Journal of
International Relations 17, no. 3 (September 2011): 381–404. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354066110377674.
7 Parker, Michael. 1957. “John Winthrop, 1588-1649. Founding the City upon a Hill.” New York:
Routledge. 222 pp.
8 Madsen, Deborah, L. 1998. “American Exceptionalism.” University of Mississippi Press Jackson. 36.
9 Fischer, Kahlib J., "Biblical Principles of History & Government" (1998). Faculty Dissertations. 37.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/fac_dis/37.
10 Lutz, Donald S. 1980. "From Covenant to Constitution in American Political Thought." Publius,
Autumn, 1980, Vol. 10, No. 4, Covenant, Polity, and Constitutionalism. Oxford University Press.
pp. 101-133.
11 Dreisbach, Daniel L. “The Bible in the Political Rhetoric of the American Founding.” Politics and
Religion, 4 (2011), 402.
12 Madsen, Deborah, L. 1998. “American Exceptionalism.” 36.
13 Primary Documents in American History. “Virginia Declaration of Rights.” n.d.
Accessed from https://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/mason.html#American May 10, 2021.
14 Michael E. Smith. “The Special Place of Religion in the Constitution.” The Supreme Court Review
Volume 1983. The University of Chicago.
https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/scr.1983.3109475
15 Liebman, Robert, C., Sutton, John R., and Wuthnow, Robert. "Exploring the Social Sources of
Denominationalism: Schisms in American Protestant Denominations, 1890-1980." American
Sociological Review, June 1988, Vol. 53, No. 3 (June 1988), pp. 343-352.
16 Liebman, Robert, C., Sutton, John R., and Wuthnow, Robert. "Exploring the Social Sources of
Denominationalism: Schisms in American Protestant Denominations, 1890-1980." 344.
17 "Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America," translated by G. Lawrence, eds. J. P. Mayer and Max
Lerner (Harper & Row, New York, 1966; Collins/Fontana Library, London, 1968), Vol. I, pp. 9–19.
Originally written 1835.
18 Stourzh, Gerald. “From Vienna to Chicago and Back: Essays on Intellectual History and Political Thought
in Europe and America 2007.” Chicago Scholarship Online: March 2013.
DOI: 10.7208/Chicago/9780226776385.001.0001
19 O’Toole, Patricia. 2018. “The Moralist: Woodrow Wilson and the World He Made.” Vol. First Simon &
Schuster hardcover edition. New York: Simon & Schuster. 4. Accessed from https://bit.ly/3y2OfhG dated
May 8, 2021.
20 Liu, G. & Hollier, L. H. 2018. Review of “American Exceptionalism and the American Surgical
Association. Journal of Craniofacial Surgery, 29(5), 1384. Doi: 10.1097/SCS.0000000000004659.
21 Ramrattan, Lall, & Szenberg, Michael. 2019. American Exceptionalism- Economics, Finance, Political
Economy, and Economic Laws. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. 385 pp.
https://doi-org.ezproxy.liberty.edu/10.1007/978-3-030-05557-8
22 Scalia, Antonin. "On American Exceptionalism delivered." October 5, 2011. Video 7:15.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ggz_gd--UO0
23 "Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America," translated by G. Lawrence, eds. J. P. Mayer and Max
Lerner (Harper & Row, New York, 1966; 768-769.
