Is the United States Exceptional? Inviting Students to Consider American Democracy, Liberty, Opportunity, and Optimism During Troubled Times

This article invites middle and high school social studies teachers and students to address the question, "Is the United States Exceptional?" We define American exceptionalism as the belief that the United States is qualitatively different from other nations based upon having some special virtue, ideology, or mission that makes it an outlier. We identify four themes or components of American exceptionalism: democracy, individual liberty, opportunity, optimism. We then call for letting students decide for themselves whether, when, and how the United States has been an exceptional nation while studying U.S. and world history. We close considering the advantages of allowing students to explore America as an exceptional nation in the current moment. Inquiring into American exceptionalism positions students studying U.S. and world history to construct their own nuanced understandings, to see from multiple perspectives, and to consider the United States in a global context.