American Exceptionalism in the Thought of John Ireland
This article examines John Ireland's appropriation of the classic American political notion of American "exceptionalism." The argument presented here is that with important variations on some points, Ireland stands largely in continuity with ideas set forth by Alexander Hamilton, Thom...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
American Catholic Historical Society
2008
|
| In: |
American catholic studies
Year: 2008, Volume: 119, Issue: 1, Pages: 43-62 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | This article examines John Ireland's appropriation of the classic American political notion of American "exceptionalism." The argument presented here is that with important variations on some points, Ireland stands largely in continuity with ideas set forth by Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Paine, James Madison, and John Jay. For example, he shared their concern that citizens ought not to use the apparatus of the state to interfere with individual economic initiative and private property. On the other hand, however, he is at variance with these thinkers on the very mission of America. Like these men, Ireland believed that America had a special mission in the world, a mission to safeguard hard-won political liberties at home and to work to extend these democratic principles around the world, as circumstances permitted. To this mission, however, Ireland added the judgment that church-state relations in the United States represented an ideal arrangement for the Roman Catholic Church. Ireland believed that the spread of American political ideals could and would go hand-in-hand with the spread of Roman Catholicism in the world, a vision that Hamilton, et. al, would find most unsettling. Another variation concerns the appropriation of social contract theory. Ireland expressed reservations about classic social contract theory (Hobbes, Rousseau) though it appears he never directly criticized the framers of the Constitution for their adaptation of this theory. Finally, Ireland's observations of American conduct after the Spanish-American War led him to question whether America was really up to the task of spreading and sharing its political ideals. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 2161-8534 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: American catholic studies
|