Reply the response requirement 1. Respond to a specific prompt in detail and with sustained interest over the discussion 2. Apply concepts and ideas from lecture and/or readings to something currently in the news. Your participation will be assessed using the following criteria: · Activity (25%): · How much do you participate in our online discussions? Are you “lurking” or actively conversing? Do you wait until the last minute or work consistently throughout the discussion period? · Are you taking the initiative to post and to work with one another? · Quality (50%): · How strong are your contributions to the online discussions? Do they deepen your group’s general understanding of the course materials and ideas contained therein? · Are your contributions based on the ideas contained in the readings and do they strengthen our deliberations OR are they merely expressions of unsupported opinion—“data-free” analysis? · Interest (25%): · Are you bringing some new and relevant information into the discussion that deepen the general understanding of your group? For example, are you discussing an interesting journal or newspaper article that pertains to the topic for the week? · Are you applying concepts and ideas from lecture and/or readings to a current case or a particular class Original Prompt Folks, What are the building blocks of American exceptionalism and how did they (and continue to) influence foreign policy? In thinking about this question let's try to draw a line between past uses of the term and current expressions. Response American exceptionalism is deep rooted in our history, and difficult for me to understand as a contemporary citizen. The Beautiful Lie of American Omnipotence in combination with Mead’s The American Foreign Policy Legacy began to enlighten me a little as to how American foreign policy came to be exceptionalism, and more importantly, how we are still operating under exceptionalism in the light of a new era, where: “our commitments have grown massively… but our resources are not what they once appeared (qtd. In Beinart).” The foundation of American exceptionalism is, as far as I can tell, a huge amount of military clout, and natural resources. The nation was built by nationalist pride and a strong desire for independence. Once the United States had been established as a nation, exceptionalism was fostered by the geographic location (oceans on either side, posing little threat) and the political climate of Democracy that made America feel as though it were a city on a hill as Winthrop said. With the strength of the US military, we were never forced to give up this national image, even though, today political rhetoric clings to an empty shell of what nationalism once was. “The American character, wrote Arthur Schlesinger Sr., ‘is bottomed upon the profound conviction that nothing in the world is beyond its power to accomplish’ (Beinart 1).” The passage quoted here goes on to explain how because of this conviction ...

1. Reply the response requirement
1. Respond to a specific prompt in detail and with sustained
interest over the discussion
2. Apply concepts and ideas from lecture and/or readings to
something currently in the news.
Your participation will be assessed using the following criteria:
· Activity (25%):
· How much do you participate in our online discussions? Are
you “lurking” or actively conversing? Do you wait until the last
minute or work consistently throughout the discussion period?
· Are you taking the initiative to post and to work with one
another?
· Quality (50%):
· How strong are your contributions to the online discussions?
Do they deepen your group’s general understanding of the
course materials and ideas contained therein?
· Are your contributions based on the ideas contained in the
readings and do they strengthen our deliberations OR are they
merely expressions of unsupported opinion—“data-free”
analysis?
· Interest (25%):
· Are you bringing some new and relevant information into the
discussion that deepen the general understanding of your group?
For example, are you discussing an interesting journal or
newspaper article that pertains to the topic for the week?
· Are you applying concepts and ideas from lecture and/or
readings to a current case or a particular class

2. Original Prompt
Folks,
What are the building blocks of American exceptionalism and
how did they (and continue to) influence foreign policy? In
thinking about this question let's try to draw a line between past
uses of the term and current expressions.
Response
American exceptionalism is deep rooted in our history, and
difficult for me to understand as a contemporary citizen. The
Beautiful Lie of American Omnipotence in combination with
Mead’s The American Foreign Policy Legacy began to enlighten
me a little as to how American foreign policy came to be
exceptionalism, and more importantly, how we are still
operating under exceptionalism in the light of a new era, where:
“our commitments have grown massively… but our resources
are not what they once appeared (qtd. In Beinart).”
The foundation of American exceptionalism is, as far as I can
tell, a huge amount of military clout, and natural resources. The
nation was built by nationalist pride and a strong desire for
independence. Once the United States had been established as a
nation, exceptionalism was fostered by the geographic location
(oceans on either side, posing little threat) and the political
climate of Democracy that made America feel as though it were
a city on a hill as Winthrop said. With the strength of the US
military, we were never forced to give up this national image,
even though, today political rhetoric clings to an empty shell of
what nationalism once was.
“The American character, wrote Arthur Schlesinger Sr., ‘is
bottomed upon the profound conviction that nothing in the
world is beyond its power to accomplish’ (Beinart 1).” The
passage quoted here goes on to explain how because of this
conviction, any politician who tries to confine American sights
or rhetoric on more manageable goals is destined for political
death. Aka. “the lie is politically essential.” This brings up odd
and important dilemmas for me- if we as a nation are convicted

3. of a lie in regard to our foreign policy, and have been for four
hundred odd years, how should we proceed forwards? Will there
ever be a president willing to try to reign in American
exceptionalism and try to fix more internal problems such as
our national debt, or our economic deficit? What will it take to
turn American exceptionalism inwards, and expel the hubris of
dominance that the nation was built on?
Lecture :understand the inter-related nature of Exceptionalism,
Expansionism, and Isolationism;
Exceptionalism
one of the basic themes in the American self-conception is that
the nation is in some way exceptional. Something new on earth,
an example to human kind. As David Campbell suggests in his
1998 book Writing Security suggests, this exceptionism is
deeply related to the Protestant Errand In the Wilderness. That
is, expansion into the wilderness that was to become the United
States was, as Bercovich suggests, a making of a new world or,
in their words, a “New Jerusalem.”
Winthrop first articulates this in his famous 1630 “A Model of
Christian Charity” in which he suggests that the settlers truly
strive towards excellence and right living but the phrase has
been transformed from a call to excellence to one of example
and exemplar. Both President’s Kennedy and Reagan “retasked”
the phrase and gave it the “beacon like” sense of hope.
The notion that the US is “the last best hope of Mankind”
continues to resonate with the American people. According to a
2010 poll conducted by the Rasmussen Report 51% of
Americans believe that the US is exceptional [click on the poll
link]. This is powerful statement on what Americans believe and
guides both policy and politics.

4. Since this aspect is so critical it is worth considering in some
detail.
Images:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:John_Winthrop.jpg,
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:REAGANWH.jpg,
Isolationism.
The third aspect of American Foreign Policy is that it is
characterized by “Isolationism.” That is, the United States
wanted to remain above the power politics of the European
Empires.
This is best articulated by President Washington in his 1796
Farewell Address from which I have pulled two quotes.
In the first, Washington argues that in Union that the States
United will find strength to resist conflict and warns against the
corrupting nature of a large standing military force (recall that
one of the reasons FOR the War of Independence was the
pernicious affects of such institutions).
The second quote is the most famous for our purposes. The US
should honor it current relationships but not undertake further
“entanglements.”
Isolation is often taken to mean that the United States simply
turned its back upon the rest of the world and had little no
relations with the European powers. However, your survey of
the timelines provide earlier should challenge that notion.
Reading
· Beinart. "The Beautiful Lie Of American

5. Omnipotence." National Journal (2010): 8. Academic Search
Complete. EBSCO. Web. 26 Sept. 2011.
· Mead. “The American Foreign Policy Legacy.” Foreign
Affairs. Vol.81, No. 1,
January/February 2002.
· Optional: BBC News—Quiz on the War of 1812. June 20,
2012. Web. 18 July. 2012. [a bit of fun]
· Optional: "Legacy of The War of 1812." The Diane Rehm
Show. June 18, 2012. Web. 18 July. 2012.["A discussion on the
War of 1812 . . . Often called "the forgotten war," it tested a
new generation of American leaders, shifted the global balance
of power and set the stage for American westward expansion."]
Media
You may wish to investigate these sites during or after your
viewing of Lecture 3:
· TimeRimes: American Foreign Policy from 1793
· Wikipedia: Timeline of US Military Interventions
· History of the Marine Corps Hymn
· Time: Jefferson & The Pirate War
· Watch: Reagan. “Evil Empire” Speech (1983)
· Pew Center Global Attitudes Database
· Bercovich. “The Typology of America’s Mission.” American
Quarterly