The Negative Effects of American Exceptionalism

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Over the duration of America's lifetime, its' people's mindsets have evolved in many aspects. Ever since the start, the United States' ideology of being a superior society or world power has shaped its' citizen's beliefs in a number of negative ways. Although most incoming immigrants have optimistic views that would help boost the "greatness" of America, the citizens who believe that they are entitled to the freedoms of America, whom have lived there their whole lives and consider themselves American; tend to completely reject and look down upon any group different than themselves.
The first group of foreign people, besides the Native Americans, to establish land in America were the Puritans. The Puritan religion had a unique way of living that heavily depended on the preaching's of their religion. On their journey to America, aboard the Arbella, the Puritan leader John Winthrop, gave a speech that stated, "for we must Consider that we shall be as a City upon a Hill, the ...

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world to look towards; they instead took their morals of exceptionalism and looked upon other humans in a dehumanizing way, rather than reaching a helping hand out to that community. This is where there is the first development of American Exceptionalism before it the United States was its own country yet.
As the 13 colonies of the New World began to develop into what would soon become America, there is a second, more positive development of exceptionalism that spurs the United States into its fight for freedom. One of the key reasons that pilgrims began to immigrate from England and Europe to America was because they were being cohered to a way of living that they did not enjoy; such ...

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