America, Amerikkka - Elect Nation and Imperial Violence (Hardcover)

Traces the historical and ideological patterns of the view Americans have of themselves as an elect nation inhabiting a promised land and enjoying a uniquely favored relation with God and a mission to spread redemption qua democracy throughout the world. This view, coupled with racial exclusivism, privileges whites and marginalizes other citizens. In the 18th and 19th centuries a doctrine of the rights of man excluded the two primary non-white groups present in the territory, Native Americans and Africans. Manifest Destiny justified the expansion across the North American continent, while forcing Mexico through war to cede a third of its land, excluding Mexicans, Indians, Africans and Asians from this expanded citizenry. In the 20th century, American perception of its mission became imperialist beyond the continental borders, occupying the Philippines and the Caribbean, claiming hegemonic dominance over Latin America and the Pacific islands. Since WWII, the US has taken the role of Global policeman to enforce neocolonial relations over much of the third world and beyond.