American Exceptionalism, From the Outside Looking In

Abstract

It is easy to think of American exceptionalism as the refuge of scoundrel politicians, the sort of unfit elected official too frightened to face the challenges of the day or to formulate any serious public policy, except perhaps drafting a contract against America. It is likewise easy to think of American exceptionalism as the propaganda spewed year after year at U.S. schoolchildren, so they might retain gullible innocence through adult citizenship. And it is easy to think of American exceptionalism as a sheath for the systemic infliction of inequality and injustice, to protect and hide unearned privilege that might otherwise crumble. Ian Tyrrell studiously concentrates on the fascinating history rather than the terrible folly of American exceptionalism. Indeed, Tyrrell is the perfect historian to write such a history as he has been investigating American exceptionalism at least since the 1991 publication of his oft-cited “American Exceptionalism in an Age of International History” in the American Historical Review.1 An early convert to transnational history, Tyrrell urged Americanist historians to escape their national confines and exceptionalist reflexes in order to convey the full complexity of U.S. history.