A HISTORY OF THE SELF-CONTRADICTORY NATIONALISM OF THE U.S.
Main Article Content
Abstract
This paper constructs a genealogy of American nationalism that follows major historical events and periods, from the genesis of nationalism since the country’s early state-building to the War on Terror in response to September 11th attacks in 2001. It argues that as an overarching, singular and generic term, American nationalism is paradoxical since it is a configuration of contradictory forces striving for equality and supremacy, unity and division. By organizing the discussion chronologically, the paper emphasizes how nationalism has been shaped by historical contexts. Through a critical, extensive review of relevant historiographies and scholarly research, it identifies contradictory forces that have emerged and persisted in the history of American nationalism, including civic-political nationalism and various forms of ethnic nationalism. The lens of self-contradictory nationalism contributes to nuanced understanding of American nationalism as a discourse for power struggle, meaning, and identity.
Article Details
Keywords
nationalism, discourse, self-contradictory, history, American studies
References
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Schultz, K. M. (2011). Tri-Faith America: How Catholics and Jews held postwar
America to its protestant promise. Oxford University Press.
Siskind, J. (1992). The invention of Thanksgiving: A ritual of American nationality. Critique of Anthropology, 12(2), 167–191. doi:10.1177/0308275X9201200205
Smith, A. D. (2000). The nation in history: Historiographical debates about ethnicity and nationalism. University Press of New England.
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Travers, L. (1997). Celebrating the fourth: Independence Day and the rites of nationalism in the early Republic. University of Massachusetts Press.
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Waldstreicher, D. (1995). Rites of rebellion, rites of assent: celebrations, print culture, and the origins of American Nationalism. The Journal of American History, 82(1), 37–61. doi:10.2307/2081914
Wood, G. S. (Ed.). (1990). The rising glory of America, 1760-1820. Northeastern University Press.
Anderson. S. L. (2016). Immigration, assimilation, and the cultural construction of American national identity. Routledge.
Arieli, Y. (1984). Nationalism. In J. P. Greene (Ed.), Encyclopedia of American political history: Studies of the principal movements and ideas Vol. 2, (pp. 841–862). Charles Scribner’s Sons.
Bancroft, G. (2016). History of the United States of America from the discovery of the American continent Volume set 1 vol 1. Wentworth Press. (Original work published 1834)
Boissoneault, L. (2017). Literacy tests and Asian Exclusion were the hallmarks of the 1917 Immigration Act. Smithsonian Mag. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-america-grappled-immigration-100-years-ago-180962058/
Blassingame, J. W. (1968). American nationalism and other loyalties in the Southern Colonies 1763-1775. Journal of Southern History, 34, 50–75.
Bonikowski, B. (2008). Research on American nationalism: review of literature, annotated bibliography, and directory of publicly available data sets. RSF Working Paper, Russell Sage Foundation. https://www.russellsage.org/sites/all/files/u4/Bonikowski%20&%20DiMaggio_American%20Nationalism.pdf
Bush, G. (2001a, Sep. 14). President’s remarks at national day of prayer and remembrance. The White House. https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010914-2.html
Bush, G. (2001b, Sep. 16). Remarks by the president upon arrival. The White House. https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010916-2.html
Bush, G. (2021c, Sep. 19). Remarks by the president at photo opportunity with House and Senate leadership. https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2001/09/text/20010919-8.html
Bush, G. (2001d, Sep. 20). Address to a joint session of Congress and the American people. https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010920-8.html
Faust, D. G. (1988). The creation of confederate nationalism: Ideology and identity in the Civil War South. Louisiana State University Press.
Fousek, J. (2000). To lead the free world: American nationalism and the cultural roots of the Cold War. University of North Carolina Press.
Freeland, R. M. (1975). The Truman doctrine and the origins of McCarthyism: Foreign policy, domestic politics and internal security; 1946-1948. Knopf.
Frothingham, R. (1872). The rise of the republic of the United States. Little, Brown.
Gallatin, A. (1879). The writings of Albert Gallatin Vol. 1. J.B. Lippincott. (Original work published 1816)
Gleason, P. (1981). Americans all: World War II and the shaping of American identity. The Review of Politics, 43(4), 483-518. doi:10.1017/S0034670500051068
Greenfeld, L. (1995). Nationalism: Five roads to modernity. Harvard University Press.
Higham, J. (1984). Send these to me: Immigrants in urban America (Rev. ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press.
Howe, J. (1967). Republican thought and the political violence of the 1790s. American Quarterly, 19(2), 147-165. doi:10.2307/2710783
Kallen, H. (1998). Democracy versus the melting pot: a study of American nationality. https://classes.matthewjbrown.net/teaching-files/american/Kallen-Melting-Pot.pdf
Kaufmann, E. (2000). Ethnic or civic nation?: Theorizing the American case. Canadian Review of Studies in Nationalism, 27, 133–154.
Kohn, H. (1957). American nationalism: An interpretive essay. Macememillan.
Lieven, A. (2004). In the mirror of Europe: the perils of American nationalism. Current History, 103(671), 99–106. http://www.jstor.org/stable/45317927
Matthews, J. (2021, Oct. 5). The United States didn’t really begin until 1848. Zócalo Public Square. https://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/2021/10/05/the-united-states-didnt-really-begin-until-1848/ideas/connecting-california/
McPherson, J. (1999). Was blood thicker than water? Ethnic and civic nationalism in the American Civil War. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, 143(1), 102-108. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3181978
Pei, M. (2009, Nov. 2). The paradoxes of American nationalism. Foreign Policy. https://foreignpolicy.com/2009/11/02/the-paradoxes-of-american-nationalism/
Pleck, E. (1999). The making of the domestic occasion: The history of Thanksgiving in the United States. Journal of Social History, 32(4), 773-789.
Potter, D. M. (1962). The historian’s use of nationalism and vice versa. The American Historical Review, 67(4), 924–950. doi:10.2307/1845246
Robertson, A. (2001). “Look on this picture... And on this!” Nationalism, localism, and partisan images of otherness in the United States, 1787-1820. The American Historical Review, 106(4), 1263-1280. doi:10.2307/2692948
Roshwald, A. (2006). The endurance of nationalism: Ancient roots and modern dilemmas. Cambridge University Press.
Savelle, M. (1962). Nationalism and other loyalties in the American Revolution. The American Historical Review, 67(4), 901–923. doi:10.2307/1845245
Shulman, S. (2002). Challenging the civic/ethnic and West/East dichotomies in the study of nationalism. Comparative Political Studies, 35(5), 554–585. doi:10.1177/0010414002035005003
Schultz, K. M. (2011). Tri-Faith America: How Catholics and Jews held postwar
America to its protestant promise. Oxford University Press.
Siskind, J. (1992). The invention of Thanksgiving: A ritual of American nationality. Critique of Anthropology, 12(2), 167–191. doi:10.1177/0308275X9201200205
Smith, A. D. (2000). The nation in history: Historiographical debates about ethnicity and nationalism. University Press of New England.
Stokes, B. (2024, Feb. 20). Could the United States be headed for a national divorce? Chatham House. https://www.chathamhouse.org/2024/02/could-united-states-be-headed-national-divorce
Trautsch, J. M. (2015). The origins and nature of American nationalism. National Identities, 18(3), 289–312. https://doi.org/10.1080/14608944.2015.1027761
Travers, L. (1997). Celebrating the fourth: Independence Day and the rites of nationalism in the early Republic. University of Massachusetts Press.
Truman, H. S. (1945/2024). Radio report on the Potsdam Conference. American Rhetoric Online Speech Bank. https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/harrystrumanpotsdamconference.htm
Waldstreicher, D. (1995). Rites of rebellion, rites of assent: celebrations, print culture, and the origins of American Nationalism. The Journal of American History, 82(1), 37–61. doi:10.2307/2081914
Wood, G. S. (Ed.). (1990). The rising glory of America, 1760-1820. Northeastern University Press.