The greatest nation on earth : the different types of American exceptionalism articulated in presidential rhetoric

Sammanfattning: ‘American exceptionalism’ is a concept that has frequently been referenced in presidential rhetoric over the years. The concept entails the distinct belief that the United States is unique, if not superior, when compared to other nations. As a result of their exceptional history and culture the U.S. have a distinct, arguably God given, destiny to fulfil in the world. The underlying aim of this paper is to determine how presidents differ in their belief towards the concept of America exceptionalism. In order for me to achieve this I intend to analyse the speeches of four presidents; John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, to determine the different types of exceptionalism articulated in their rhetoric. I will be creating my own typology, based off several already established typologies, that is made up of four categories; messianic exceptionalism, global exceptionalism, internationalist exceptionalism and rejectionist exceptionalism. This typology will be used to help categorize the different types of exceptionalism conveyed in presidential rhetoric. The results of this paper show that messianic exceptionalism is the most dominant form of exceptionalism, with Kennedy, Reagan and Bush all conveying it in their rhetoric. The biggest difference can be found in the rhetoric of Obama which reflects global, internationalist and rejectionist exceptionalism.