American Exceptionalism

Volker Depkat is a professor in the Department of British and American Studies at the University of Regensburg, Germany.

• AcknowledgementsIntroductionChapter 1 The American Land: Landscapes of Abundance, Wilderness, and BeautyChapter 2 The West and the South: Exceptional Regions and Regions of ExceptionalismChapter 3 Cities upon Hills: The Colonial Foundations of American ExceptionalismChapter 4 Sacred Fire of Liberty: The American Revolution and the Transformation of American ExceptionalismChapter 5 The American Way of Empire: Exceptionalism and U.S. Foreign PolicyChapter 6 Promissory Notes: Exceptionalism and African American Self-EmpowermentChapter 7 Perfectible Union: American Exceptionalism and ReformChapter 8 People of Plenty: American Exceptionalism and AffluenceChapter 9 Crisis of Disorientation: Contested Exceptionalisms in Contemporary AmericaBibliographical EssayIndexAbout the Author

This is a well-balanced, incisive account of what exceptionalism means to scholars, students, and general readers across the political spectrum. Depkat explores the concept’s origins and development and the reality that its meaning, which changes over time, depends on one’s political persuasion…. Depkat covers the span of American history, referencing both primary and secondary sources to create this forceful, insightful analysis of American exceptionalism, something that is more a dream for the future than simply an analysis of the past.Highly recommended. General readers through faculty; professionals.