American Civilization

Front Cover
Institute for the Study of the Americas, 2007 - History - 105 pages

This thought-provoking book demonstrates that, far from being a unique entity, the United States is the most American of nations. It shares with its neighbors to the south an aspiration for equal opportunities and freedoms in a society both defined and divided by race. As Charles A. Jones points out, the United States is distinguished from its neighbors chiefly by the greater material capabilities it has been able to apply to this historic task. Although it is sometimes regarded as Western, Jones points out the extremes to which the United States differs from Western Europe: from distinctive levels and styles of religiosity to public violence to respect for law to concern with material accumulation. These traits, far from constituting a claim to exceptionality, bind the U.S. firmly to the rest of the American hemisphere. In fact, Jones argues, it was separated only by the strange accident of historiography that created a Latin America little more than a century ago. He projects that these perceived differences between the United States and its southern neighbors will fade in the near future, and looks forward to a truly inclusive America.

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About the author (2007)

Charles A. Jones teaches International Relations at the University of Cambridge and is a former director of its Center of Latin American Studies. He has worked on Argentine history for many years and published books on the history of international business in the nineteenth century, the North-South dialogue of the 1970s, neorealist international relations theory, and the English diplomat and historian E. H. Carr.

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