Hello Mike. I had sent you a note and a photo of some fabulous clouds that reminded me of you and John Constable. I wonder if that arrived or if there is a better address to reach you these days.
I talked to Darrell recently and he said he had a brief conversation with you. I like to keep in touch with him, he served us all so well in Hampton Place
It is so good to hear from you my beloved friend. Yes I did hear from our friend Darrell. He is such a fine fellow indeed. And hearing from you brings great joy to my heart. You are very kind in even mentioning anything I do with the great John Constable. I’m afraid I am very far from Constable (and JMW Turner, my favorite painter), except I sit before his magnificent skies as an artist to try and learn. The Lord bless your wonderful family and keep you in His perfect care. Your friend, Mike
As I watch much of US politics from a distance it seems to me that the question of American exceptionalism lives at the heart of much of the conversation.
Some years ago I recall you speaking of an author or series that you trusted as informed on the assumptions, issues and implications of this perspective.
As one seeking to understanding wonder if you recall who that might have been?
I believe I must have been referring to the late Dr. Perry Miller (1905–1963), who wrote the classic series Errand into the Wilderness (1956).¹ His single-volume work The American Mind (1954) likewise develops the idea of America as a nation “set apart” for good, particularly for world missions, and links the history of America to the English Puritan mind.²
Similarly, the eminent English historian Paul Johnson (1928–2023) wrote what is arguably the finest one-volume history of the United States, A History of the American People (1997).³ Johnson also sees in America that same enthusiastic missionary zeal, and he agrees with the concept of exceptionalism to the extent that he interprets American history as either falling away from, or in repentance seeking to renew, “the covenant” made at Plymouth (1620) and Jamestown (1607) with the Lord.
Long before Miller or Johnson, Alexis de Tocqueville (1805–1859) famously captured this spirit in Democracy in America (1835/1840), observing that Americans often regarded themselves as a chosen people with a providential mission.⁴ Tocqueville’s work has remained foundational for later interpretations of exceptionalism. In the twentieth century, scholars like Seymour Martin Lipset (1922–2006) in American Exceptionalism: A Double-Edged Sword (1996) added nuance by noting both the strengths and perils of the idea.⁵
I mention these rather dispassionate but perceptive scholars because while one could go directly to the Pilgrims or to Jonathan Edwards (1703–1758) and the First Great Awakening, Miller, Johnson, Tocqueville, and Lipset offer a scholarly framework for considering “American exceptionalism.”
It has long interested me that from George Washington (1732–1799) onward—with special attention to Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), Calvin Coolidge (1872–1933), John F. Kennedy (1917–1963), Ronald Reagan (1911–2004), and President Donald J. Trump (1946– )—those presidents who invoked “American exceptionalism,” often through the biblical imagery of America as “a city on a hill” (cf. Matt. 5:14), became (despite policy differences, e.g., Kennedy versus Reagan) advocates of the concept.
This “special relationship” with Great Britain is part of America’s self-understanding. I was reminded of this as I watched the recent proceedings from Windsor Castle. The relationship is not only grounded in the shared English language and common history, but also in a sense of being “an elect nation,” an idea deeply woven into the self-identity of the British Empire itself.
There have also been interesting studies on the assimilation of other people groups into what Miller called “the American mind.”⁶ It is indeed a fascinating and inexhaustible subject.
The Lord bless you, my old friend.
Yours faithfully,
Mike
PS… I added some note and suggestions from a course I taught on Religion in American history at Belhaven University.
Footnotes
1. Perry Miller, Errand into the Wilderness (Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1956).
2. Perry Miller, The American Mind: An Interpretation of American Thought and Character Since the 1880s (New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1954).
3. Paul Johnson, A History of the American People (New York: HarperCollins, 1997).
4. Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, trans. Harvey C. Mansfield and Delba Winthrop (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000; originally published 1835/1840).
5. Seymour Martin Lipset, American Exceptionalism: A Double-Edged Sword (New York: W. W. Norton, 1996).
6. See David Hackett Fischer, Albion’s Seed: Four British Folkways in America (New York: Oxford University Press, 1989).
Bibliography
Fischer, David Hackett. Albion’s Seed: Four British Folkways in America. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989.
Johnson, Paul. A History of the American People. New York: HarperCollins, 1997.
Lipset, Seymour Martin. American Exceptionalism: A Double-Edged Sword. New York: W. W. Norton, 1996.
Miller, Perry. Errand into the Wilderness. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1956.
———. The American Mind: An Interpretation of American Thought and Character Since the 1880s. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1954.
Tocqueville, Alexis de. Democracy in America. Translated by Harvey C. Mansfield and Delba Winthrop. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000. Originally published 1835/1840.
Many thanks Mike. I knew you would have wonderful set of authors to recommend. I think I'll start with Paul Johnson have a copy of his work on the shelf behind me.
Hello Mike. I had sent you a note and a photo of some fabulous clouds that reminded me of you and John Constable. I wonder if that arrived or if there is a better address to reach you these days.
I talked to Darrell recently and he said he had a brief conversation with you. I like to keep in touch with him, he served us all so well in Hampton Place
Warm regards
Roger
It is so good to hear from you my beloved friend. Yes I did hear from our friend Darrell. He is such a fine fellow indeed. And hearing from you brings great joy to my heart. You are very kind in even mentioning anything I do with the great John Constable. I’m afraid I am very far from Constable (and JMW Turner, my favorite painter), except I sit before his magnificent skies as an artist to try and learn. The Lord bless your wonderful family and keep you in His perfect care. Your friend, Mike
Amen and amen. Thank you for this trenchant analysis.
I pray for reform that exalts Christ in that fair land of our fathers.
Mike,
As I watch much of US politics from a distance it seems to me that the question of American exceptionalism lives at the heart of much of the conversation.
Some years ago I recall you speaking of an author or series that you trusted as informed on the assumptions, issues and implications of this perspective.
As one seeking to understanding wonder if you recall who that might have been?
With thanks
Roger
Good to hear from you, Roger.
I believe I must have been referring to the late Dr. Perry Miller (1905–1963), who wrote the classic series Errand into the Wilderness (1956).¹ His single-volume work The American Mind (1954) likewise develops the idea of America as a nation “set apart” for good, particularly for world missions, and links the history of America to the English Puritan mind.²
Similarly, the eminent English historian Paul Johnson (1928–2023) wrote what is arguably the finest one-volume history of the United States, A History of the American People (1997).³ Johnson also sees in America that same enthusiastic missionary zeal, and he agrees with the concept of exceptionalism to the extent that he interprets American history as either falling away from, or in repentance seeking to renew, “the covenant” made at Plymouth (1620) and Jamestown (1607) with the Lord.
Long before Miller or Johnson, Alexis de Tocqueville (1805–1859) famously captured this spirit in Democracy in America (1835/1840), observing that Americans often regarded themselves as a chosen people with a providential mission.⁴ Tocqueville’s work has remained foundational for later interpretations of exceptionalism. In the twentieth century, scholars like Seymour Martin Lipset (1922–2006) in American Exceptionalism: A Double-Edged Sword (1996) added nuance by noting both the strengths and perils of the idea.⁵
I mention these rather dispassionate but perceptive scholars because while one could go directly to the Pilgrims or to Jonathan Edwards (1703–1758) and the First Great Awakening, Miller, Johnson, Tocqueville, and Lipset offer a scholarly framework for considering “American exceptionalism.”
It has long interested me that from George Washington (1732–1799) onward—with special attention to Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), Calvin Coolidge (1872–1933), John F. Kennedy (1917–1963), Ronald Reagan (1911–2004), and President Donald J. Trump (1946– )—those presidents who invoked “American exceptionalism,” often through the biblical imagery of America as “a city on a hill” (cf. Matt. 5:14), became (despite policy differences, e.g., Kennedy versus Reagan) advocates of the concept.
This “special relationship” with Great Britain is part of America’s self-understanding. I was reminded of this as I watched the recent proceedings from Windsor Castle. The relationship is not only grounded in the shared English language and common history, but also in a sense of being “an elect nation,” an idea deeply woven into the self-identity of the British Empire itself.
There have also been interesting studies on the assimilation of other people groups into what Miller called “the American mind.”⁶ It is indeed a fascinating and inexhaustible subject.
The Lord bless you, my old friend.
Yours faithfully,
Mike
PS… I added some note and suggestions from a course I taught on Religion in American history at Belhaven University.
Footnotes
1. Perry Miller, Errand into the Wilderness (Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1956).
2. Perry Miller, The American Mind: An Interpretation of American Thought and Character Since the 1880s (New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1954).
3. Paul Johnson, A History of the American People (New York: HarperCollins, 1997).
4. Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, trans. Harvey C. Mansfield and Delba Winthrop (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000; originally published 1835/1840).
5. Seymour Martin Lipset, American Exceptionalism: A Double-Edged Sword (New York: W. W. Norton, 1996).
6. See David Hackett Fischer, Albion’s Seed: Four British Folkways in America (New York: Oxford University Press, 1989).
Bibliography
Fischer, David Hackett. Albion’s Seed: Four British Folkways in America. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989.
Johnson, Paul. A History of the American People. New York: HarperCollins, 1997.
Lipset, Seymour Martin. American Exceptionalism: A Double-Edged Sword. New York: W. W. Norton, 1996.
Miller, Perry. Errand into the Wilderness. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1956.
———. The American Mind: An Interpretation of American Thought and Character Since the 1880s. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1954.
Tocqueville, Alexis de. Democracy in America. Translated by Harvey C. Mansfield and Delba Winthrop. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000. Originally published 1835/1840.
Many thanks Mike. I knew you would have wonderful set of authors to recommend. I think I'll start with Paul Johnson have a copy of his work on the shelf behind me.
Fabulous survey of important works on this issue.
Thanks, Counselor. I hope it is of help to some.