ABSTRACT
The spiritual and political leader of the group, John Winthrop, was on board the flagship Arbella. When the Puritan community made it to North America’s east coast, they were not immediately embraced by the eternal salvation for which they had yearned all the way; instead, they were confronted with everyday struggles to stay alive. Feminist philosopher Judith Butler asserts that both political and ethical responsibilities need to be rooted in the recognition that one is always a part of larger global processes. In Providence and the Invention of the United States 1607–1876, historian Nicholas Guyatt notes that over time “national providentialism” in America transformed into a strategy for achieving concrete political goals. According to psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton, the United States has long suffered from a “superpower syndrome.” Lifton defines this psycho-political condition in terms of America’s sense of omnipotence, cosmic ambition, and entitlement.
