ABSTRACT
The United States of America continues to be at the forefront of world events, still engaged in a global ‘war on terror’, and coming to terms both at home and abroad with the varied consequences of the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 (9/11, or September 11th), while even closer to home, dealing with a biting economic recession and two shattering environmental disasters in Hurricane Katrina (2005) and the Deepwater Horizon Gulf of Mexico oil spill (2010). What these different events ‘mean’, how they are dealt with, and what they might tell us about the USA as a domestic and international power demonstrates why it is vitally important to continue to study and analyse ‘America’ in all its formations. In recent years, ever-popular concepts in American history like ‘nation’, ‘empire’, ‘homeland’, ‘freedom’ and ‘patriotism’ have been given new meanings and interpretations, contested from the perspectives of those critical of the political project of President George W. Bush and celebrated by those who supported him. With the arrival of America’s first African American President, Barack Obama, on 20 January 2009, many viewed the nation as entering a new phase, perhaps echoed in the optimistic words of the President’s inaugural address: ‘We gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.’ Yet as the speech progressed Obama re-stated what so many Presidents had said before them: ‘The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.’ Of course, spoken by an African American perhaps these words take on an altered and more pointed meaning, reiterating old values while re-emphasising them for a new age and a new audience. In the twenty-first century how do Americans respond to notions of ‘enduring spirit’, ‘God-given promise’ and concepts like freedom and happiness? Although clearly echoing the Declaration of Independence, does this mythic rhetoric still ring true for all Americans?
