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HISTORICAL SCIENCES
«City upon a Hill» or origins and development of American exceptionality Pisarevskaya A. (Russian Federation) «Город на холме» или зарождение и развитие Американской
исключительности Писаревская А. А. (Российская Федерация)
Писаревская Анна Альбертовна / Pisarevskaya Anna - студент, факультет свободных искусств и наук, Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет, г. Санкт-Петербург
Abstract: the article describes the establishment of the phenomenon of «American exceptionality» in the United States of America and its development in history.
Аннотация: в данной статье рассказывается о становлении такого явления, как «Американская исключительность» в Соединенных Штатах Америки и его развитие в истории.
Keywords: nation, exceptionality, puritans, colonists, idea.
Ключевые слова: нация, исключительность, пуритане, колонисты, идея.
"You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven" [1]. In 1630, John Winthrop led a group of Puritan Englishmen to the shores of America. He stood upon the ship, The Arabella, challenging his countrymen to establish a nation that would be a "city built on a hill". He pleaded with them on the basis of scripture to live as a model of Christian charity. There he writes: "For we must consider that we shall be as a "city upon a hill". The eyes of all people are upon us, so that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken..." [2]. Many politicians, like John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan, have popularized Winthrop's early exhortation as a sign of American exceptionality. The concept of "city on the hill" emphasizes the unique mission of the United States - a country that, like the heart of Danko, like the torch of Prometheus lights the way of humanity wandering in the darkness. Every American is a true patriot of his country, but what are the origins of this feeling, what events led Americans to believe in their exceptionality?
The first permanent English colony was founded in 1607 in Jamestown, Virginia. A few years later, fleeing from religious persecution by the Anglican Church, the puritans arrived in America from England. In 1620, the puritans founded Plymouth colony, which eventually received the name of Massachusetts. Plymouth was the second permanent British settlement in North America and the first in New England. From this point the sense of exceptionality arises. The puritans hoped to build in New England "city upon a hill" - an ideal society. Since Americans believe the history of their country is the greatest experiment, a worthy model for other countries.
Colonists arrived from all European countries, but the most firmly entrenched the British. By 1733 English settlers had already established 13 colonies on the Atlantic coast from New Hampshire in the North to Georgia in the South. Gradually between England and her colonies broke out a conflict which resulted in the revolution or war for independence. Here is proclaimed the thesis of the extreme importance of building a new world on the American continent for all of humanity. In January 1776 Thomas Paine, democrat-enlightener, issued a pamphlet "Common sense". He stressed that the Americans are fighting for freedom from the tyranny the only one in worldwide: "O ye that love mankind! Ye that dare oppose, not only the tyranny, but the tyrant, stand forth! Every spot of the old world is overrun with oppression. Freedom hath been hunted round the globe. Asia, and Africa, have long expelled her. Europe regards her like a stranger, and England hath given her warning to depart. O! receive the fugitive, and prepare in time an asylum
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for mankind" [3]. This was the mission of the Americans: to show by their example the way to worldwide happiness. And this happiness is that freedom resides in their territory. And the liberation for the rest of the world comes exactly from America. After the victory in the war for independence, the idea of American exceptionality became even stronger. Alexander Hamilton to promote the ratification of the U.S. Constitution wrote in The Federalist Papers: "Facts have too long supported these arrogant pretensions of the European: it belongs to us to vindicate the honor of the human race, and to teach that assuming brother moderation. Union will enable us to do it. Disunion will add another victim to his triumphs. Let Americans disdain to be the instruments of European greatness! Let the Thirteen States, bound together in a strict and indissoluble union, concur in erecting one great American system, superior to the control of all transatlantic force or influence, and able to dictate the terms of the connexion between the old and the new world!" [4]. That is the true mission of the United States at the thoughts of one of the most influential American founding fathers. Alexander Hamilton laid the foundations of American expansionism, which in the future served as the backbone of American exceptionality.
It first revealed in 1803 with the Louisiana purchase from France. After independence, the US government lifted the British ban to settle for Allegheny Mountains, and the colonists moved west. The United States were interested in purchasing of New Orleans, which lied through the US trade between the western and eastern suburbs. Goods went down the Mississippi, through the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean to the East coast of the United States. But the out of the Mississippi into the Gulf of Mexico was shut by New Orleans. Exactly this strategic area, the US President Thomas Jefferson planned to take under control. James Monroe and Robert Livingston went to Paris in order to hold preliminary negotiations. The United States initially wanted to acquire only the territory of New Orleans and the nearby port lands. But no one could think what kind of proposal will be put forward by the French. At first they replied with a categorical refusal. But then, in the Guadalupe and San Dominica started the slave revolt against the French. The Europeans had lost a very large number of soldiers due to disease and fierce confrontation of the rebels. Napoleon realized that France would not be able to retain the Louisiana, UK or the US could easily grab it. So he decided to sell the entire territory of Louisiana to the United States. Thomas Jefferson succeeded in his plan. I can say that he even exceeded the plan. It should be noted that the size of the purchased territory was twice the size of the United States.
After this purchase, the Americans felt themselves to be the chosen people to whom God shows favor. In 1819 by agreement between the governments of the United States and Spain, East Florida was ceded to the United States. During the presidency of Andrew Jackson American exceptionality interpreted in the context of the idea "manifest destiny". In that period, the idea of exceptionality had become a leitmotif of American political philosophy. The idea of "manifest destiny" helped to bring together the political elites of America in the framework of the enlargement policy of the country. In 1823 was adopted the Monroe Doctrine, which declared the American continent as zone of exclusive interests of the United States. Thus, the United States annexed the territory of the modern states of Texas, California and Oregon. That is, in the period 1820s - 1870s the idea of exceptionality served as the political instrument for uniting society within the construction of American Empire. In the 90-ies of the XIX century came a new wave of expansion. Following the example of countries in Northern Europe, the United States declared that their duty to spread "civilization" to the peoples of Asia, Africa and Latin America. In 1898, after American newspapers published horror stories about the atrocities in the Spanish colony Cuba, the United States and Spain declared war. As a result of war the United States won from Spain a number of territories, including Cuba, Philippines, Puerto Rico and Guam. The United States also annexed the Hawaiian Islands.
Further, the idea of exceptionality faded into the background. The foundation of American ideology for a long time was "isolationism" - non-interference in external affairs. The idea of American exceptionality again received a second life after Second World War, when the United States rose to the ranks of the winners of hitlerite Germany. Although the Americans did not suffer such casualties as the Soviet Union, presidents Roosevelt and Truman played an important role in the formation of a new system of world order. The special role of the USA and the USSR in the
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new system comes not only from the fact of possession of nuclear weapons, but also due to the fact that Washington and Moscow have become carriers of the two fundamental ideological paradigms. At that time the principle of American exceptionality had a special "mission" to prevent the development of communist ideology. The wars in Korea and Vietnam were intended to emphasize the exceptional role of America in the struggle against communism and to show their loyalty to the allied obligations. 3 November 1969, President Richard Nixon addressed to the nation on the War in Vietnam: «Two hundred years ago this Nation was weak and poor. But even then, America was the hope of millions in the world. Today we have become the strongest and richest nation in the world. And the wheel of destiny has turned so that any hope the world has for the survival of peace and freedom will be determined by whether the American people have the moral stamina and the courage to meet the challenge of free world leadership" [5].
The fall of the USSR has transformed the United States into the sole superpower. Many American political analysts believe that the fall of the USSR strengthened the faith of Americans in exceptionality. Defeating communism, America has seen a new mission - the spread of democracy around the whole world. President Bill Clinton said in his inaugural speech: "America became the world's mightiest industrial power, saved the world from tyranny in two World Wars and a long cold war, and time and again reached out across the globe to millions who, like us, longed for the blessings of liberty" [6]. With the advent of the threat of international terrorism, the mission of spreading democracy has become one of the conceptual bases of American foreign policy. The new US President Barack Obama in his address to the UN said: "Some may disagree, but I believe America is exceptional. In part because we have shown a willingness through the sacrifice of blood and treasure to stand up not only for our own narrow self-interests, but for the interests of all" [7].
Thus with the development of historical events, the concept of American exceptionality has changed from a worldview according to which the United States occupies a special place among other nations, to a political tool, which justifies the struggle for world domination.
References
1. Matthew. [Электронный ресурс]. URL: http://www.biblestudytools.com/matthew/ (дата обращения: 02.06.2016).
2. John Winthrop. A Model of Christian Charity (1630). [Электронный ресурс]. URL: http://www.john-uebersax.com/pdf/John%20Winthrop%20-%20Model%20of%20Christian%20Charity%20v1.01.pdf/ (дата обращения: 02.06.2016).
3. Thomas Paine. Common Sense. [1776]. [Электронный ресурс]. URL: http://pinkmonkey.com/dl/library1/sense.pdf/ (дата обращения: 03.06.2016).
4. George W. Carey. The Federalist (The Gideon Edition), Edited with an Introduction, Reader's Guide, Constitutional Cross-reference, Index, and Glossary by George W. Carey and James McClellan (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2001). [Электронный ресурс]. URL: http://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/788/ (дата обращения: 04.06.2016).
5. Richard Nixon. Address to the Nation on the War in Vietnam. [Электронный ресурс]. URL: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/primary-resources/nixon-vietnam/ (дата обращения: 04.06.2016).
6. William J. Clinton. Inaugural Address. American Presidency Project. [Электронный ресурс]. URL: http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=54183/ (дата обращения: 03.06.2016).
7. Barack Obama. (2013) President Obama Speech to the UN General Assembly 2013. [YouTube]. URL https://youtu.be/nGJLf8ryED8/ (дата обращения: 04.06.2016).
