The prevail of “American exceptionalism” during the Cold War era (1947-1991)

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“PRESIDENT HARRY S. TRUMAN’S ADDRESS BEFORE A JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS”, MARCH 12, 1947.

On March 12th of the year 1947, President Truman delivered a speech in front of a joint session of Congress. This eighteen-minute speech will be known as the foundation of the “Truman doctrine”, which guided the foreign policy of the US through the early years of the Cold War. Truman’s anti-communism doctrine was well received in both parties with little resistance. The central, most important point that the “Truman doctrine” addressed, was the commitment of the US to “support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures.” Examining this under the lenses of “American exceptionalism”, Truman’s speech is almost the perfect embodiment of “American exceptionalism”. It sees America as the exemplar who everyone else should follow and imitate, and the US should also actively seek out to help others achieve freedom. But unlike many previous practices of “American exceptionalism” in American foreign policy, Truman’s version didn’t insist that the US is the only way to fo, instead, he wishes to assist “free peoples to work out their own destinies in their own way.” Also, he wanted to conduct this endeavor “primarily through economic and financial aid”, not forcing it upon others through military means. The announcement of the Truman Doctrine is both the dawn of the Cold War era and the gradual increase of coining the phrase “American exceptionalism”. 

John F. Kennedy, “ADDRESS AT UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON”, 16 November 1961

Several months after the unsuccessful bay of pigs invasion [1], President JFK made an address at the University of Washington. After this address, JFK will be known as the first PResident of the US who publicly announce himself a believer of “American exceptionalism”. During his famous speech, President JFK quoted the “city upon a hill” phrase from John Winthrop, and concluded that “we [Americans] bear burdens and accept risks unprecedented in their size and their duration, not for ourselves alone but for all who wish to be free.” In the case of President JFK, the concept of “American exceptionalism” has been integrated into America’s liberal ideology during the Cold war. The integration of “American exceptionalism” into the US’s Cold War liberal ideology, has justified the US’s interference into other country’s domestic affairs without the presence of a hot war. It is, in the context of the Cold War, a policy tool that JFK has drawn on to mobilize US domestic support for fiercer conflict with the communist bloc.

“The Terror of War”, Nick Ut, June 8, 1972

There is no photo of the Vietnam War more horrific and iconic than this Pulitzer award-winning photo by photographer Nick Ut. These Vietnamese children running away from their napalmed village had some of the most profound impacts on “American exceptionalism”. The moral superiority, unique freedom and exemplary status of the US that make America “exceptional” is nowhere to be seen in this photo. Even more, unfortunately, the Vietnam War also coincides with the civil rights movement and other domestic social turbulences, having one after another blow onto American people’s confidence and belief in “American exceptionalism”. The moral, ideological justification of “American exceptionalism” that Americans relied on since the start of the Cold War has shattered and lost its credibility due to the immense horror of the Vietnam War.

Ronald Reagan, “Election Eve Address “A Vision for America”, November 03, 1980

After nearly a century of constant frustration and disappointment on the “exceptionalism” of America since the Vietnam War, Ronald Reagan became the President of the US by the year 1981. In his election-eve address, Reagan once again raised the concept of “American exceptionalism”. He directly cited John Winthrop’s notorious “city upon a hill” phrase and gained unrivaled popularity. However, the most significant impact of Ronald Reagan’s coining of “American exceptionalism” wasn’t his application of it on conducting foreign policy, but rebuilding Americans’ belief in such concept, and regain the moral high ground that has been occupied by America for many years but lost in the 1970s. If not Ronald Reagan revived “American exceptionalism”, the US might still be capable of prevailing the Cold War, but a large part of the post-Cold War liberal transformation that took place in the former Soviet Union member states might not happen due to the lack of a guiding ideology.

 

Notes:

 

  1. “The Bay of Pigs Invasion”, Central Intelligence Agency, Last modified Apr 18, 2016, https://www.cia.gov/news-information/featured-story-archive/2016-featured-story-archive/the-bay-of-pigs-invasion.html