People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research

Larbi Ben M’hidi University-Oum El Bouaghi

Faculty of Letters and Languages

Department of English

A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of Letters and Languages,

Department of English in partial fulfillment of the requirements forthe

degreeof

Master in Anglo –American studies

Board of examiners: Candidate:

President: Siad Rania.

Examiner: Supervisor: Filali Billel.

*September 2020*

American Heroism and the Construction of a Culture:

Dimensions and challenges

I

Declaration

I, Siad Rania, with student card number: 1534001296 Candidate for Master at the

Department of English, L’arbi Ben M’hidi Universit, I do hereby declare that the

dissertation entitled American Heroism: Heroes and Hustlers within an American

perspective, in partial fulfillment of Master degree in Anglo-American studies is my own

original work, and it has not previously submitted at any other university.

II

Dedication

My warmest gratitude to my parents, family, and friends who helped me and encouraged

me. Second, to Masashi Kishimoto, the Mangaka who shaped my world and created my

favorite character: Hashiramasinju. Finally, many thanks to Hashirama, for even being a

fictional character, he kept me motivated and inspired through days which I did not feel

like doing anything.

III

Acknowledgements

First of all, I always express my deepest sense of gratitude as well as praise to the

all-powerful Allah who enabled me to accomplish my Master Dissertation without any

delay.

Second, I am truly thankful to my supervisor Mr. FilaliBillel for his hard work,

invaluable and amazing patience while dealing with my character. His insights,

encouragement, understanding, and confidence gave me a super power to accomplish this

work.

To my parents for their incomparable love, patience, and encouragement that

helped me to complete this humble research.

To my dear friends, Aimen and Anis for their support. Without them this dissertation could

not see the light.

Last but not least, to all the mangakas and graphic novelists that their works

affected me in one way or another, I’m quite thankful.

Table of Contents

Declaration.........................................................................................................I

Dedication…………………………………………….…………………….……….……II

Acknowledgements……………………………………….……………………….…….III

Abstract………………………………………………...………………………………...IV

Résume................................................................................................................................V

VI............................................................................................................................ ملخص

General Introduction………………………………………..….…………………….…..1

Chapter One: Heroism between the Past and the Present: Historical Overview

1. Heroism: the conceptualization of a Term ………………...................................4

2. Heroism: Greco-Roman Perspectives…………………………………...............7

3. Heroism: Reflections on Middle Age……………………………………...........10

4. Medieval Ages and Social Darwinism: Ideologies and Dimensions………........16

5. American Heroism Vs Hustling: Intertwined Concepts.......................................22

Chapter Two: The Founding Fathers and the Utopian Empire: Heroism in Motion

1. The Founding Fathers and the Making of American Heroism……………................…24

2. Washington and Madison: Fortitude and Heroism………………………......…27

3. Jackson and FDR: The Continuation of a Legacy……………………….....…..30

4. 20thCentury Heroism: Change in Dynamics………………………………........33

Chapter Three: 21st Century Challenges and Outlets: Stardom Vs Heroism

1. The Formation of Pliable American Heroism……………………………….…44

2. American life and the need for Reshaping Heroism………………………...…46

3. Mental Constructions of Modern American Heroism……………………....…..48

4. Material Constructions of Modern American Heroism…………………..……..50

5. Technological advancement and the Making American Heroes……..................53

General Conclusion...............................................................................................................64

Works Cited………………………………………………………………………....……..66

IV

Abstract

This research purports to examine the phenomenon of heroism in the United States

and the way it takes different shapes and altering contextual dimensions from one century

to another. An analysis is scooped on the evolution of the American version of heroism and

its changing connotations. Furthermore, the research seeks to highlight the development of

standards that play a conceptual role in crystallizing the basic elements for the creation and

perpetuation of heroism as a popular culture in the United States. The course of the

research requires deep scrutiny of major points that cannot be separated from heroism as

phenomenon. America’s worship of individualism, creativity, liberalism, and efficiency

was determinant in paving the way for heroism to be well-placed in the American social

and cultural life. The flow of ideas shows the way in which heroism and its connotations

swing from one person to another regardless of their cultural backgrounds, ethnic

belongingness, and political affiliation. The research suggests that the powerful position of

America might be an outcome of the investment in heroism.

Key words: Standard of heroism, American heroism, Flexibility.

V

Résumé:

Cette recherche tend à analyser le phénomène de l’héroïsme aux États-Unis et

comment il a évolué, en prenant différentes dimensions d’un pays à l’autre. Elle vise aussi

à démontrer l’évolution de l’héroïsme chez les américains, ainsi que le changement de ses

connotations au fils des temps. En outre, cette recherche met en évidence les standards de

développement qui œuvrent à la création de l’esprit héroïque et sa perpétuation dans la pop

culture. La réussite de cette recherché nécessite un examen approfondi des points majeurs

qui ne peuvent être séparés de l’héroïsme, considéré comme phénomène. L’esprit de culte

voué par les Américains au individualisme, créativité, libéralisme et la réussite a été

déterminent dans la façonnage de l’esprit héroïque chez le quotidien des Américains, ainsi

que dans leur culture. Le flux d’idées démontre comment l’héroïsme et ses connotations

passent d’un individu à un autre, sans prendre en considération : sa culture d’origine, son

ethnie ou ses tendances politiques. Cette recherché sous-entend que la position de force, de

l’Amérique peut être le résultat de ce phénomène d’héroïsme.

VI

ملخص:

التي تتخذ بها هذه الأخيره أشكال و سياقات بعديه الطريقةو الأمريكيةمعاينه ظاهره البطوله إلىيهدف هذا البحث

أن هذا البحث إلىللبطوله و الدلالات المتغيره. بالاضافه النسخةالأمريكيةآخر.هناك تحليل لتطور إلىمن قرن مختلفة

لخلق و استمرار الأساسيةيهدف إلى تسليط الضوء على تطور المعايير التي تلعب دورا مفاهيميا في بلورة العناصر

عميق للنظر في عده نقاط لا يمكن فصلها عن إمعانشعبيه في الولايات المتحدة. مسار البحث يتطلب البطولةكثقافة

كان أمرا رئيسيا في تعبيد الطريق للبطوله الكفاءة، التحرر، و الإبداعا للتفرد، . عباده أمريكالبطولةالأمريكيةكظاهرة

التي تتأرجح بها الطريقةالاجتماعية و الثقافية لأمريكا. انبثاق الأفكار يظهر بالنسبةللحياةلأن تكون في مكان ملائم

تمائهم الحضري و موقفهم السياسي. البحث و ان الثقافيةو دلالاتها من شخص لآخر بغض النظر عن خلفياتهم البطولة

.البطولةلأمريكا قد تكون من تبعات الاستثمار في المكانة القويةيقترح أن

1

General Introduction

Considered by different scholars as a mere imitation and, to far extent, continuation

of the Greco-Roman and later European version, the phenomenon of American heroism

and its analysis are of a crucial sensitivity and utmost significance. Different types of

research were conducted over heroism as a phenomenon, concept, and the question over

whether it is inherited or acquired. Conversely, the present research is an attempt to shed

light on the American version of heroism and the way in which Americans were successful

in conceptualizing a profound and simultaneously unique understanding of heroism.

The flow of ideas and some drawn conclusions may surp rise traditionalists. The

classical image of heroism that was historically linked to politicians, presidents, and

statesmen went outmoded. The new version of American heroism became wide enough to

include different American characters regardless of their gender, ethnicity, political and

religious affiliation, and other consideration. The limited scope of the research requires

certain selective measures to include certain number of influencing figures. Several figures

known with their major success and impact in the American life are taken as samples for

the study. Heroic figures whose intellectual and innovative insights proved the very

possibility of the slogan ‘from zero to hero’ contributed to developing the American

economy, creating inspirational role model for success, and supplying innovative

technological methods and tools. The varied choice ranged between politicians (Founding

Fathers and presidents), marshals and chancellors (Donovan), black leaders (Luther King),

graphic novelists and cartoon designers (Stan Lee and Walt Disney), scientists (Karl

Sagan), businessmen and technology programmers (Bill Gates), company owners and

2

billionaires (Jeff Bizos), public figures (Oprah Winfrey), and reality TV celebrities (the

Kardashians).

It is of high priority for the research to focus on portraying the flexibility of the

American version of heroism and the way its connotation and understanding change from

one century and generation to the other. More than this, it aims at examining main

American ideologies and their association to heroism. These ideologies include

Individualism, creativity, and efficiency. The research showed that the amalgamation

between American heroism and other doctrines was determinant in stimulating attitudes of

the Americans towards hard work and the belief of the American foundations and values.

The research attempts to answer many questions. What are the main remarkable

similarities and differences between early meaning, understanding, and practice of heroism

and the American ones? What are the norms and criteria that enable heroism to take

different flexible shape ؟What are the social norms and standards that contribute in making

an American hero in a given era? What are the outcomes gained through investing in

American heroism?

Structurally, this research is divided into three main chapters. The first one spots

light on the early existence of heroism images in early civilizations. It covers a set of

identifications for heroism and the conceptualization of the term in the Greco-Romans and

European civilizations. The second chapter examines the conceptualization of American

heroism and its historical evolvement from the 18th till the 20th century. In addition to that,

it covers the contributions of some heroic American figures by the different standards of

American heroism for each century. The third chapter highlights the perception of

American heroism in the 21st century and the major shifts in dynamics. Furthermore, it

3

analyzes the flexibility of American heroism and its balance between politics, economy,

and technology.

Methodologically, this research opts for two main approaches. The

historical\ descriptive one is used when investigating the historical roots of heroism and the

narration of certain events. The second one is the analytical approach. Analysis represents

the core of this research since the major aim of the research is a scrutiny of the American

version of heroism and the way it evolves dynamically from one era to another. These

approaches are conducted under the MLA format (7th edition).

4

Chapter I

Heroism between the Past and the Present: Historical Overview

Introduction:

In order to better define heroism, we have to acknowledge that we are dealing with

the concept within a western version. It is necessary to disentangle heroism in a

chronological fashion in order to analyze how the concept evolved from one age to another.

To begin with, heroism was always of a major importance for western civilizations

throughout history. It was labeled as a phenomenon that was associated with many

definitions according to the era. The establishment of each definition was governed with

various standards, definitions, and ideologies of each historical period. However, giving the

fact that the purpose of the study is bound with American heroism, we can not the

convenience of analyzing the evolution of heroism in historical periods that paved the way

for the establishment of the American civilization. Moreover, better understanding of the

relationship of hustle with heroism allows for a broader understanding for the basic roots of

American heroism, which gained its first shapes from the western civilization version of

heroism.

1. Heroism: The Conceptualization of a Term.

Throughout history, there was an eminent urge to heroism following the rise of

western civilization and the American one in particular. For centuries, Western theories

constructed ideas of heroism that there were primarily based on historical, cultural,

psychological, and mythological structural consistencies (Ganeri 1). It’s very important to

note that, Ancient western civilizations had, arguably, more finite understanding of the

5

meaning of the concept of heroism. However, American civilization as the successor of

these civilizations developed a wider view of the concept. In fact, in modern times there are

many definitions of the concept, ranging in specificity, or rather ambiguity. By modern

standards, Merriam Webster dictionary defines heroism as “heroic conduct,” and heroic as

“exhibiting or marked by courage and daring; supremely noble or self-sacrificing; of,

relating to, resembling, or suggesting heroes, especially of antiquity” (Merriam-Webster’s

Collegiate Dictionary, the11th edition,120). The concept of the hero is one that hearkens

from antiquity; the word itself is an ancient Greek production.

The concept was exposed to a series of continual evolving processes through

attaching great importance to accidents and contingencies in history. Creating new

settlements or military, scientific, religious, and socio-cultural revolutions that, in most of

its appearances, were rarely but accidentally planed (Hook 142). Moreover, the evolution

of heroism is also associated with history’s waves of emergencies and well-established

ideas and evolutions (Fishe 3). Within the frameworks of the development of the concept,

attempts were taken to examine some of the historical evolution of the concept and its shift

into becoming exclusively related to the American civilization. Most of those attempts

were based on suppositions: what would have happened if this or that historical figure had

or had not been alive? And what are the ways in which this fact contributed to the historical

development (Feldstein 6-26). Notably, the concept had shifted and took a new rapid form

of evolvement according to its significance, philosophy, and the dominant ideology of the

époque. Across the Atlantic, heroism was highly significant and decisive in making a great

nation taking into considerations certain historical events; the American Revolution among

other events allowed heroism to gain further specification and take an exclusive shape.

6

All these elements were deemed as key factors for heroism to become more

personalized and significant to the area (Savelle 93-100). The concept prospered and

gained a valuable statue in the establishment of the American civilization. In fact, the

United States would not have become a world superpower without the adoption and

support of heroism as an ideology. From its early independence, the United States had

strongly attempted to become as unique and exceptional as possible. From a purely

American perspective, devoting concepts and tools for their best interest helps in

empowering the nation. Furthermore, boosting creativity and denying physical reality and

culturally-endorsed immortality projects to overcome any hardships that may form an

obstacle to success (Becker 171-173).

Similarly, the American founding fathers and the leaders who shaped its unique

exceptional ideology were explicitly partisans of the American heroism. The latter was

advertised through a national propaganda campaign to promote the ideals of freedom and

democracy and defining characteristics of the United States, signifying loyalty and

defending American political idealism. The features of this idealism include self-

government, equal opportunity, freedom of speech, and a belief in progress. The collection

of ideals that forms the modern sense of American heroism holds an enduring appeal to

people from lands throughout the globe (McCartin 76-85). In addition to that, the famous

ideologies that stood against the principles of the British Crown had helped in the fast-

coinage of American heroism. A fine example of flexibility considering American heroism

lays within the point of manipulating actions and concepts easily according to what serves

the nation’s needs and not in a complete devotion for the classical definitions of heroism of

Western civilizations (Nichols 39).

7

As the concept of heroism continued to come close to the American character, its

impact was widely growing in shaping the American identity and simultaneously coining a

unified American spirit (Alison 3-7). At a point, Americans made use of heroism to learn

and take lessons the former experiences in devoting the term of heroism to serve the

nation’s purposes. One of these examples is self-proclaimed righteousness in seizing

properties and sovereignty.

2. Heroism: Greco-Roman Perspectives

In western civilization, heroism is traced back to the early Greco-Roman

civilizations. The term “Heroism” was and still an ever-surviving concept that is highly

related to the Greek and the Roman heritage. Greco-Roman myth of Heroism refers to the

quest of passing unfamiliar, special world that leads to the creation of a hero’s journey

(Campbell 140-142). In fact, the word hero itself is derived from the Greek language. It is

synonymous to the word protector. Thus, heroism gained a major importance in the Greco-

Roman civilization. It is common in the Greco-Romans legacy that a hero is more than a

human but less than a god. The term was assimilated with various kinds of supernatural

figures (Abrams 175-176). However, the distinction between hero and god is ambiguous

due to some shared characteristics between some heroes with gods such as Heracles. The

latter was conceived as a hero and god interchangeably, as sacrifices was made to him in

religious festivals (Burkert 208-212).

Heroism as a concept appeared in the ancient Greco-Roman civilizations with

twofold meanings. On one hand, it was used for denoting a divine being which lived a

mortal life, but after doing some great deed deserved to become a god. Heracles for Greeks

or Hercules for Romans, as they both represent the same figure, is a fine example of a

8

figure with a mortal life but was rewarded by gods and became a demigod after impressing

them with his heroic actions during his life (Fowler 139-142). On the other hand, the hero

stands for a great and a brave warrior who is ready to sacrifice his life in order to gain

immortal glory and continue to live in the social sphere. Achilles for Greeks and Spartacus

for the Romans represented heroic warriors who gained immortal glory through their

military bravery. While, Achilles was a major hero who gained fame and was described as

greatest of all the Achaean warriors in the Iliad of Homer (Leonie 56-70), Spartacus was

also described as a great Roman hero. He gained a massive glory after he was one of the

escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War, a major slave uprising against the Roman

Republic (Fields 80, 93, 103).

Greeks and Romans were assertive in the point of the necessity to point out the

difference between god as a divine creature and a hero as a brave warrior. Moreover,

Heroes’ statues in ancient Greece and Rome were frequently sculptured as a result of the

growth and development of the polis (city-state) and the conflicts between them. The

argument in favor of this claim is deeply embedded in the character and function of heroes.

Heroes were praised and divinized as meritorious mortals mainly for the formation of the

cities and for bringing social order. Thus, the constitution of such cults aimed at justifying

and empowering political associating on the grounds of family ties and tribal belongingness.

This leads to the conclusion that the crucial aspect for understanding the hero cult for the

Greeks is the relationship between religion and newly established social and political forms

of organization (Farnell 215-233).

Theologically, Thousands of heroes existed in Greece. This enormous number is

related to the local character of their worship. Moreover, honors that the gladiators "heroes"

9

received were quite the same as those for the divined once within religious or political

practices (Foster 67-85). Roman perception of heroism was not different from the Greek.

Similar to the the Greeks, the Romans had two types of heroes: divine and heroic warriors.

Generally, divine Roman heroes are related to religious figures and the founders of Rome

such as Aneas and Romulus (Rupke 125-134).

All in all, the ancient civilizations of Greece and Rome have influenced Western

society more profoundly than perhaps any other cultures in world history. Remarkably, the

concept of heroism was one of their major contributions. Although, the concept by

definition at that time was more or less finite and quite theologically based. Nevertheless,

being related to some exaggerated deeds, mostly supernatural actions exhibited by a given

hero, Greco-Romans, however, had always a space for mortal men who achieved greatness

during their lifetime and deserved heroism. Julius Caesar, one of the prominent and famous

characters, is considered as a hero for Romans. His political intelligence and great

achievements resulted in categorizing him with heroes (Thorne 15-18). The Greeks also

had their share of considering some mortal men as heroes. Most notably, Alexander the

Great, whose military accomplishments and genius leadership of the Greek army made a

heroic figure of him in the Greek history (Renault 203- 213).

This indulgence of mortal men in the category of heroes in Greco-Roman

civilizations paved the way to the appearance of hustling, which would later on flourish in

accordance to American heroism. That Western civilization that was built on the cadaver of

the Greco-Roman civilizations was greatly influenced by different items and elements such

as heroism and the making of heroes. Giving the fact that “Western civilization” refers to

the cultures of all European countries and other countries under their influence. The United

10

States is considered as an annex to this western civilization. Consequently, the concept of

heroism is a tremendous core Greco-Roman heritage, which by its flexible nature kept on

evolving throughout the rise and the decline of other civilizations that came after the

Greco-Roman era and h gained a valuable social and psychological statue.

3. Heroism: Reflections on Middle Ages

As the concept shifted during the renaissance, heroism and its connotation went out

of its narrow shell that was created during the Greco-Roman eras. It started to include men

of science, innovators, and clergymen. Heroism was more than profound during the

renaissance. Martin Luther as one of the best European prominent figure diverted from the

Catholic Church and founded his own in the name of Bible and Reason. From 1510 to 1520,

Luther found out through studying portions of the Bible in the books of Hebrews, Romans,

and Galatians some important notes. He, then, had come to view the use of terms such as

penance and righteousness by the Catholic Church did not match the logical meaning of the

words. Rather, they were used to serve personal interests. Luther was convinced that the

church was corrupt in its ways and had lost sight of what he saw as the central truths of

Christianity. The most important belief for Luther was the doctrine of justification. It was

God’s act of declaring a sinner righteous by faith alone through God's grace. He began to

teach that salvation or redemption is a gift of God's grace, attainable only through faith in

Jesus (McKin 88-94).

Unquestionably, this incident would have never taken a place if Luther and his

followers were not driven by a sense of courage. Remarkably, Luther had the powerful to

defy and stand against Catholic Church regardless of its power and influence. He was, thus,

11

challenging the entire traditional way of thinking and the result was strikingly modern.

Moreover, Luther helped in paving the way to utilize conscience, informed by reading the

scriptures, over the dictates of church rules and regulations. Reading scripture and making

one’s own mind up was his purpose. (Mckinnon 11240). Furthermore, liberty, free speech

and even human rights, all of which today shape Europe. In fact, the ability to read the

word of God and reject it (in modern times) came from Luther’s heroic theological uprising.

As an outcome of his upheaval, heroism had evolved. Luther’s heroism has drawn from

the wellsprings of psychoanalytic insights into providing a comprehensive embrace of

revolutionary theological system (Roper 49-61). It is not a mistake to say that despite being

a religious man, Luther sought for truths that other clergymen had failed to demonstrate at

that time. It is safe to conclude with that heroism t played a major role in his decisions and

opposition to the Catholic Church (Roper 62-73).

During the renaissance in Europe, heroism was crucial in the field of science.

Scientists at that time faced many risks that often threatened their lives but never stopped

them from seeking the truth. They were armed with an arsenal of heroic desires to discover

and invent useful ideas that made zigzags in all life aspects and changed the fundamental

ways of thinking and perceiving ideas. Among those, a famous man of science whose

discoveries had changed our perspectives and modernized science ever since. Galileo, who

in addition to being a religious man, he sought for truths that religion had failed to

demonstrate. Heroism played a major role in his decisions and discoveries that stood

against the church, which unfortunately led to his execution (Drake 23-27).

Galileo made original contributions to the science of motion through an innovative

combination of experiment and mathematics. Moreover, he showed a modern appreciation

12

for the proper relationship between mathematics, theoretical physics, and experimental

physics. Rare at the time, his ideas did not receive a warm welcoming from the church. In

fact, his works were perceived heretical and misleading by the church. The religious

authority which was represented by the church described Galileo’s ideas as malicious

attempt to shake its stability and statue in the society as a sacred source that had a deep

impact on the scientific field at that time. Since many phenomena at that time were always

explained in a theological manner (Johnston 113-127).

The year 1616 was an important spot for the notification of Galileo’s sense of

heroism. as the church warned him not to publish any more papers in support of the

heliocentric theory because it was contrary to a literal interpretation of several passages in

the Bible. Galileo agreed to this, however, he finally stood up for what he knew to be the

truth. He tried to convince important leaders, including the Pope himself, that the Bible was

a book explaining the path to salvation not a scientific book, and that the evidence for the

heliocentric system was too solid to deny it. Galileo was given permission by the Pope, one

of Galileo's biggest supporters, to publish his findings; as long as the heliocentric theory

was only portrayed as an unconfirmed hypothesis and that the Church’s traditional views

also to be expressed, as well as the Pope's own views (Seeger 17-83-108).

The Roman inquisition tried to put the pressure on Galileo for heresy accusations,

forced him to denounce the heliocentric theory, and sentenced him to house arrest for the

rest of his life, and later on his execution. Galileo was a model for the ethical heroic figure.

However, sometimes being ethical means following the dictates of authority, but other

times it means standing up for what is right, even if the people in power disagree with you

(Robinson 52-68). The fight for the truth and for valuing reason and logic led Galileo to be

13

known as pioneer of the "experimental scientific method" and eventually helped to have

better understanding of the universe.

The renaissance was also a great period for heroism to prosper and become more

connected to personal pursuit of success despite all the odds. A fine example lays in the

Borgias and their major contributions during the renaissance. Despite being controversial,

they epically helped in raising the bars higher for striving for success. This fact, linked the

sense of heroism at that time to a wider concept that is utilized to achieve final purposes, no

matter what were the hardships. The Borgias were an Italian-Spanish noble family which

arose to prominence during the renaissance. The Borgias became prominent in

ecclesiastical and political affairs during the 15th and 16th centuries. Producing two Popes,

The Borgias’ coming to power through the Roman Catholic Church was a matter of various

doubts (Mallett 9-23). Rodrigo Borgia, or as he became later on known as Pope Alexander

VI, was the second Pope to be selected from the Borgias family. The path of papacy was

not an easy task for him. In the conclave following Calixtus III’s death, the family’s first

pope, Rodrigo was only a junior cardinal, yet he played a key role in electing the new

Pope—Pius II—a role that required courage and risking his career. This act of taking risks

could not be described less than to be related to a sense of heroism.

The Borgias contributed to the consolidation of heroism by changing the ordinary

rules of heroism into more complicated norms that many historians referred to as unethical.

The Borgias gave a strong notion to Machiavelli’s thoughts, which he expressed

remarkably in his two major works: The Prince and The Discourses. Machiavelli’s

thoughts helped in understanding that lying, dissembling, and maneuvering in politics is

not something to be appalled with. He proposed that immoral behavior, such as the use of

14

deceit and the murder of innocents, was normal and effective in politics (Mansfield 178).

In his book: The Prince, Machiavelli suggested that the social benefits of stability and

security can be achieved in the face of moral corruption. He believed that public and

private morality had to be understood as two different things in order to rule well. As a

result, the classical sense of heroism had changed and became linked not only to reputation,

but also to the will to act unscrupulously at the right times. Heroism in a Machiavellian

sense was accompanied to someone, mostly politicians, who is occasionally dark and

underhand they might be, who knows how to defend, enrich and bring honor to the state

(Machiavelli 120-121). Machiavelli’s ideologies were crucial in revealing that sense of

heroism had evolved into what suits the society’s needs through the hero’s effectiveness

not his piety. Machiavelli had made it clear that heroism was not only constantly linked to

idealistic virtues that were created in the Greco-Roman era or even established by his

Christian contemporaries who suggested that heroism must be always linked to mercy,

generosity, and tolerance. He insisted that there should be a dwell on the incompatibility

between ethics and good leadership (Machiavelli 128-131).

The Borgias’ many political decisions matched what Machiavelli had implemented

in his works, as they proved their ability to maintain stable governance during Pope

Alexander VI’s papacy. Despite being the head of the highest theological institution (The

Roman Catholic Church), Pope Alexander VI made an err to the side of inspiring terror,

and corruption. To begin with, he bribed and bought his way to papacy. Moreover, he

showed no hesitation in fulfilling his objectives through crimes, most notably, his affairs

with married women against their well, or even beheading, poisoning or murdering

cardinals who showed resentment or disapproval to his methods such his incident with

15

cardinal Serra who was empoisoned under the pope’s orders, for he declared that the

pope’s regime was of (rewrite and clarify) which was of a misrepresentation for the

Roman Catholic church and unethical compared to the Christian values(Quinn 33-41) Yet,

all these unethical behaviors kept people in check and reinforced the Pope‘s rule over them

( Chaplin 25,28). In his book The Prince, Machiavelli referred to the case of Giralamo

Savonarola who was a Dominican friar, and fervent idealistic Christian who had briefly

came to be the ruler of Florence in 1494. Savonarola had come to power promising the city

of God on earth. He preached against the excesses and the tyranny of many ruling families

implementing the Borgias. However, his regime became a threat to the corrupt Pope

Alexander VI and the Borgias as well as other strong families such as the Medici’s.

Therefore, Savonarola was terminated after the Pope had him captured, tortured, and

hanged (Weinstein 133-141). Then, his body was set on fire and burnt before the eyes of

vengeful citizenry. This incident is but a proof that heroism had became more linked to the

overwhelming responsibility of decisive leadership. Heroism evolved according to the

hero’s effectiveness and serving interests rather than being exclusive in the traditional

sense of the concept. Machiavelli admired the Borgias and saw them as a contemporary

heroes who fitted to his concept “virtu”, which involves wisdom, strategy, strength, bravery,

and when necessary ruthlessness. In fact, Machiavelli believed in the necessity of a good

judicious use of swiftness in using brutality when needed. He illustrated Cesar Borgia as a

good example of knowing how to use power. When Cesare conquered the city of Cesena,

he ordered one of his mercenaries to bring order to the region, which he did through swift

and brutal ways. Men were beheaded in front of their wives and children, property was

ceased, and traitors were castrated. However, Cesare had turned to this mercenary and had

16

him sliced in half and placed in Public Square, just to remind the people that he was in

charge. Then, like what Machiavelli had described that a good leader knows how to

achieve balance, Cesare moved on to cut taxes, imported cheap grain, and built a theater to

keep people from dwelling on unfortunate memories (Machiavelli 78-81)

In a short few years, the Borgias rose from obscurity to a position of prominence in

Italian and European affairs. This was largely due to their personal abilities and a driving

ambition that can only be linked to the sense of heroism they possessed. They were truly

remarkable in an age of remarkable individuals and families.

These incidents had given heroism more individualistic implementations than what

heroism used to be during ages before. Heroism became no longer associated with The

Greco-Roman visualization of a hero, nor with the theological standards that imposed the

sense of piety on the term as a necessity that every hero should meet. In fact, societies were

developing fast that its heroes’ qualities developed at the same paste of speed. Indeed, The

Borgias and their acts of audacity where a true major influence that helped shifting the

concept of heroism and granted it wider standards.

4. Medieval Ages and Social Darwinism: Ideologies and Dimensions

Heroic actions had continued growing and gaining a more complicated texture. It

appeared more vividly during the Enlightenment. The Age of Reason would have never

taken its form if heroism was absent. Men of science at that time were of utmost

significance. The practices of heroism during their age were not set in a finite category of

figures as it was the case in the classical Greco-Roman era which was limited to two main

categories. Heroism witnessed a boom. Men, who discovered, invented, and created ideas

17

that changed the perception of humanity were matched to the standard of the definition of a

hero back then. A common definition of a hero at that time was related to curious,

notorious individual who attempts to understand the nature of things and never takes it for

granted As well as having an ever prominent desire to overcome social, political, artistic,

religious, economic, and philosophical hardships through devoting science and reason to

manage these issues despite all costs.( Baxandall 33)The best example that serves this

phenomenon (heroism) is Voltaire whose work’s significant outcome was inspiring the

Americans to have their revolution and gain independence. Voltaire was precociously

talented with words, for he was a mesmerizing author. Such a great talent was remarkably

associated with heroism. For, Voltaire expressed his thoughts robustly against all odds that

mainly had endangered his life. As a consequence, he inspired Americans later on to

express their thoughts and standardizing this quality in their unique sense of heroism.

Voltaire loathed idolatry and described how it can be repellent as an idea that doesn’t serve

a society governed by rationality and reason. Consequently, this had contributed in

evolving heroism, which no longer emphasized a traditional sense of a hero. In fact,

Voltaire’s thoughts helped in reducing exploiting the credulity of the thought that heroism

is exclusively linked to fixed ideal standards governed by the traditional idealism (Wade

&Owen 36-75).

During the Enlightenment, men of reason such as Voltaire helped in shifting the

focus of heroism into achieving mastery (Noyer 25). As a result, heroism within the

European scope had prospered and covered other parts of the world under the European

umbrella. The sense of heroism devoured and became widely attached to attain mastery

during the enlightenment due to many reasons, such as, theologian emphasizing on the

18

necessity of resenting lavish living and the concentration on hard work. Moreover, the

revering of the working class during the Enlightenment, which; consequently, aided in

creating the industrial revolution. Furthermore, the appearance of ideas that glorified thrift,

seeking wealth, and promoting a new revolutionized economical ideologies. Most notably,

The ideas of Adam Smith, which he explicated in his book: An Inquiry Into The Wealth of

Nations. This book had a major impact in devouring the sense of heroism and acquiring an

affiliation with attaining mastery (Greene 17-24-33). Smith demystified wealth creation in

his book by explaining how capitalist economies grow. He reached several important

conclusions that played a major role in changing heroism into what fits a modern industrial

European society. Smith argued that maximiz ing one’s own profit; individuals

inadvertently benefit society providing goods that people want and need. This argument

itself was a major contributor to developing heroism in Europe during the enlightenment

and widening it from a traditional concept linked to idealism, benevolent piety, and moral

general interest into affectivity, self-interest, and promoting a sense of superiority (Smith

21-87-103)

Investing in the sense of heroism in its modernized form during the Enlightenment

led into a geographical expansion of the European borders. However, that wouldn’t have

been achieved without a strong military stream. Europe utilized heroism to expand and

make profits and reinforce its military presence on the world map. Napoleon Bonaparte is a

fine example to illustrate heroism during the Enlightenment. The mental representation,

which Napoleon provided to the art of warfare at that time was remarkable and to say the

least, Heroic in its various stages. What made the difference between the outstandingly

creative figure of Napoleon and other leaders of his time was not any special power, that is

19

to consider his heroism was not about divinity; but rather greater knowledge (in the form of

practiced expertise) and the motivation to acquire and use it. Furthermore, being

tremendously powerful in field mastery, that is to say that Napoleon had mastered his role

as a great General and triumphed over other great leaders due to his gift, skills, and ability

to achieve success under hard circumstances (Boden 27-54-84). Napoleon was responsible

for spreading the values of the French Revolution to other countries, especially in legal

reform the abolition of serfdom (Grab 36-53-72)

Napoleon is considered as a hero because he inherited a very troubled social and

political situation in post-Revolutionary nation and managed to completely turn the case

around due to his creative leadership. He started a wave of many progressive reforms,

which expanded to other places in the world and influenced other reforms later on. These

reforms included religious toleration, army and educational reforms, and equality before

law (Roberts 11-16). He managed to do something no other French ruler, nor the

revolutionary government was able to do for a very long time, in one year, he miraculously

balanced the national ledger (Palmer & Colton 428-429).

The contributions of Napoleon as a heroic figure are arguably massive. He rose to

power through his ability and talent, almost unprecedented in Europe at the time. And he

looked for ability and talent in those around him. That caused a significant shift in the

perception of heroism and opened up doors to embrace other characteristics that had

become attached to heroism. His addition to the concept is forged in the fact that under his

rule, France became a great world power. Never before there has been greater or seen more

brilliant victories than under Napoleon. Napoleon's military ability is the stuff of legend.

Even his sworn enemy admitted that Napoleon was worth of his enormous heroic

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reputation for his legacy of genius. Napoleon was a brilliant tactician and strategist. It is

due to his valuable legacy of heroism that has extended and begun shifting across the

Atlantic to become later on flavored with American values, which led later on into a firm

conceptualization that’s known as American heroism (Parker 6-26).

Heroism kept on evolving and expanding due to different dimensions. During the

enlightenment, Europe introduced many ideas and ideologies that deeply influenced the

concept in its transmission across the Atlantic. One of the fine examples lays in Social

Darwinism and its impact on heroism. In fact, it had a great deal in shifting heroism from a

finite form of definitions into a more flexible, expanded ones that matched the European

standards of heroism at the time. Social Darwinism was given to different marvels,

developing in the second half of the nineteenth century, and attempting to apply the

transformative idea of common determination to human culture. The ideas that social

Darwinism implemented was deeply influential to heroism. Faith grew bigger in the heroic

character, and the necessity of prevailing over hardships, and promoting a unique superior

character was a major addition of Social Darwinism on the expansion of heroism. Despite

being controversial, the value that social Darwinism gave to heroism was immense. It was

adopted later on in consolidating American heroism. The term itself rose in the 1880s and

increased across the board. In its implements, it managed to spotlight the definitions related

to heroism and made an impact on them; this led the concept to prosper (Crook 45-68).

Many other scholars agreed with Darwin’s views and introduced works, which made a

huge impact and shed the light on the necessity of heroism. Spencer published his

Lamarckian developmental thoughts, regarding society before Darwin; initially, distributed

his hypothesis in 1859 (Bowler 300-301). Spencer and Darwin advanced their own

21

originations of good values (Gregory 223-240). Spencer upheld free and private enterprise

on the premise of his Lamarckian conviction; that battle for survival impelled self-

improvement which could be inherited (Spencer 468-501). That quest of battling for

survival had been always attached to the concept of heroism. In many manners social

Darwinism modernized the necessity of fighting for survival. Hence, the concept of

heroism had been modernized as well. While the term has been connected to the claim that

Darwin's hypothesis of evolution by natural selection can be utilized to shed the light on

heroism and its evolution. Social Darwinism defied norms of the time, it was scientifically

heroic.

Social Darwinism alluded to thoughts that originated before Darwin's distribution

of On the Origin of Species. However, Darwin made the clear cut in making his theory

which was a major assistant for the British imperial campaign. As a matter of fact, heroism

was clothed with, yet, again another significance which was granted by social Darwinism.

This significance is deeply related in individualism which is one of the major components

of American heroism (Arendt 120). Social Darwinism contributed in the appearance of

many exceeded ideas that used from the 1870s onwards. Most notably, the surprising and

all-inclusive wonder of "the Anglo-Saxon overflows his boundaries", as stated by the late-

Victorian sociologist Benjamin Kidd in Social Evolution. This idea demonstrated a support

to legitimize what was seen by some as the inescapable annihilation of "the weaker races

who disappear before the stronger» (Kidd 47). Attached with Darwinism, Heroism as a

concept gained a flexible notion beyond ethics. Heroic manners became more and more

related to the quest of survival, and resilient communities rather, than just being confided to

finite definitions relates heroic manners with only certain uprising actions (Arendt 178-

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179). In fact, there are few figures that have attained quite the cultural significance of

Charles Darwin. His creative addition to the field of science made some scientific

advanced revelations that could be grasped by everyone. His idea of common descent is did

change the way we see the world; just as knowledge of genes and the genetic code really

has transformed biology and medicine. It is due to this change other major heroic leaps

were taken in the field despite its opposing to some religious beliefs. It has become clear

that the world evolved, and life evolved with it (Fortey 33).

5. American Heroism Vs Hustling: Intertwined Concepts

It is noteworthy to indicate that the American version of heroism is not too much

different from the one of ancient western civilizations. However, its exclusivity appears in

the uniqueness and the exceptional definitions linked to it, plainly said, expresses the

American ideology (Lens 56-61). In fact, American heroism became significantly related to

the term "hustling". The term refers to a deceptive act of disguising one’s skill in a certain

field with the attention of luring someone of a probably lesser skill into a gambling process

with the hustler. (Patel 5-11). It is considered as confiding trick and a match fixing point.

Hustling was associated with American heroism for the shared perspective between the

concepts; achieving purposes and attaining success despite all hardships. Furthermore,

hustling is highly linked to striving for major goals and reaching them regardless of the

means. For hustlers; it is all fair in getting to the final destination. Hustling played a

significant role in strengthening the concept of American heroism especially during the

early making of a nation and its accession to a world’s major economic and military

superpower (Doerr 77). Undeniably, the American understanding of heroism and the status

of becoming a hero is overtly and popularly available since the requirements were tangled

23

not in a person’s background but his cognitive abilities and power as a unique character

and being intelligent and creative in dealing with hardships (Newport 14, 64, 74).

Hustling is linked to a glamorous and dramatic presence. Usually, hustlers present

themselves as objects of fascination. John Kennedy, for instance, was a hustler who won

over his opponents through his star quality and eloquence in spite of his humble Irish roots.

Hustlers seduce the subconscious mind by appealing to human fascination with certain odd

and mythical characteristics. They create a larger than life persona and then contrast it with

playing up human qualities which make them amenable to the targets. Likewise, hustling is

deeply connected to heroism and without any doubt, played a major role in consolidating

American heroism (Greene 33, 42, 61).

Conclusion:

Most modern historians agree that the concept of heroism came across the Atlantic

and devoured by American heroism due to series of shifts. Many of them concluded that

these shifts were highly important to form the concept of American heroism, which by its

turn crucial to the development of American society. While these historians inserted that

the concept of heroism was deeply fundamental component in the making of a great nation,

they also acknowledged that it was not an exclusive American creation, but rather received

with overwhelming welcoming and embrace, which led to its devour and development into

the creation of the Americanized version of heroism. The concept became more and more

flexible and its ability of accepting many ideas and ideologies aid a big deal in the process

of its development from the general concept of heroism into more specific on known as

American Heroism.

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Chapter II

The Founding Fathers and the Utopian Empire: Heroism in Motion

Introduction:

Throughout the course of American history, American heroism played a crucial role

in building the nation through political, military, economic, and cultural contributions. In

modern American history, Heroism as a phenomenon became linked to different

ideologies: Among many, Progression,flexibility, and significance were intertwined with it.

Without any doubt, the wedding of heroism with certain exclusively American values and

principles reflected in the ascension of the nation as the greatest military and economic

world superpower. This chapter unveils heroism realities and the ways in which it was

deeply grounded in the American mind.

1. The Founding Fathers and the Making of Heroism

America’s founding fathers debated, persuaded, negotiated, and fought for the

creation of one of the greatest nations in history. These men, including Washington,

Jefferson, Madison, Tocqueville, Hamilton, Adams, Jay, Paine, Carroll, Henry, and many

others, are prominent icons of American heroism. The role played by the American

founding fathers was as dramatic and instructive as any in the nation’s history. However,

actions and achievementswere managed to deeply impact and influence every aspect of the

American life. Moreover; it was deemed as the first seed of the creation and later

consolidation of American’s exceptional interpretation of heroism. Without them, there

would have been no United States of America. The Founding Fathers, a group of

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predominantly wealthy plantation owners and businessmen, united the 13 colonies, and

fought for independence from Britain and penned a series of influential governing

documents that steer the country to this day (Allen 15-21).

All the Founding Fathers, including the first four U.S. presidents, at one point

considered themselves British subjects. However, they revolted against the restrictive rule

of King George III. This act outlined their grievances in the Declaration of Independence,

which was considered as a powerful (albeit incomplete) call for freedom and equality.

Furthermore, it propelled a stunning military victory over what was then the world’s

preeminent superpower, and managed to build a frame of government for the new United

States of America upon republican principles during the late decades of the 18th century

(Shestokas55-62). The overwhelming majority came from a variety of social, economic,

and ethnic backgrounds, some with no prior political experience.

The igniting remark about the founding fathers lays in the fact that they inspired

sparking self-heroism. They promoted the idea of individualism as a profound and

unshakeable trust in one’s own intuitions (McCoy 32-41-47). Moreover, they encouraged

taking risks for higher purposes, the idea that became widely associated to American

heroism. They made a significant impact on American heroism through their major

achievements, such as starting the American mutiny taking in consideration the incredible

risks they took when they rebelled against the British authority (Wood 322-330). The

Founding Fathers declared war against the greatest military power of the time despite the

fact that they did not have a mighty fighting force themselves. Furthermore, they were

fighting for a type of government that mostly appeared impossible to form. Prof. Sarah

Burns explains the importance of asking” why they did what they did?”, and how this

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helped in creating the constitution through embracing the views of individualism, which

can revolutionize society, not through a sweeping mass movement but the transformation

of one life at a time and through the creation of leaders capable of greatness (67-81).

The sense of heroism that the Founding Fathers had shaped in an immense way

influenced the concept of American heroism in its modern form. One can only notice the

consistency of this sense giving the fact of taking incredible risks, and starting a war with a

mighty power, when they did not possess a significant military force. Furthermore, they

were fighting for a type of government that up mostly appeared to be impossible to form.

The importance of American heroism stands as a potential answer for asking what had

urged them, when they have taken those decisions of rebelling against the British

authorities and creating their own country (Murrin 79-84). It is highly remarkable that

American heroism inspired the founding fathers’ common idea of the need for each

individual to avoid conformity and false consistency and follow his own instincts and ideas,

which leads to the social prosperity, and the creation of a unique independent American

identity (Seidl 25-30).

It is only right to say that American heroism had been strongly represented by

the American Founders, who helped in the formation of many of its standards. The fact that

they were flawed, contradictory historical figures with their own radical views on what

America’s new government should look like, is nothing but a mere formation of the unique

American conceptualization of the sense of heroism. Their lives, opinions, and deeds

showed the messy and rancorous process of the formation of a “more perfect union".

Consequently, this helped in understanding the chaotic process behind the creation of a U.S.

(Parkinson 55-61).

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2. Washington and Madison: Fortitude and Heroism

While some Founding Fathers as Adams, Jefferson, Franklin, Washington, and

Alexander Hamilton have been made into demigods, others remained out of lights.

Madison, never as profoundly highlighted as the others Founding Fathers, is considered as

one of the towering figures and his contribution to the American heroism is immense. In

fact, few Revolutionary figures had the diverse experience of Madison. He was a member

of Congress, Secretary of State, and the President. He was the author of the Constitution, a

document on which he staked his reputation, several of the Federalist Papers, and the Bill

of Rights. Moreover, he helped to draft the Virginia Declaration of Religious Freedom,

which was outstanding to establish at the particular period of time. Madison’s ideological

and political experiences had proved to be a major lift for the uprising sense of American

heroism (Cost 92-97). By examining Madison's writings, one notices the difference

between him and other founding fathers who were considered to be demigods such as

Hamilton and Washington; which is a fact that can be strongly linked to their Military

success. One can argue that Madison added a depth and a thicker layer to the concept of

American heroism which made it more flexible and quite containing to various types of

actions which serves a greater cause, that achieving it could only be referred to as heroic.

His 1835 work Sovereignty addressed the constitutional crisis of the nullification

movement. This movement sought to advance the principle that if a state found a federal

law to be objectionable, then the state had the authority to nullify the given law inside ts

borders. Such a principle was not only an attack on Madison's masterpiece, the Constitution,

but it was also a challenge to the entire institution of federalism and the large republic. By

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examining this incident, one can come across the idea of having a sense of self-challenge

and the desire to bring out about what could the best that one can persevere himself to

create. As a matter of fact, this point of self-challenging is resiliently linked to American

heroism which Madison’s actions had helped in forging it as a standard for heroism

(Rutland 28,31).

In Sovereignty, Madison elaborated his argument that he set forth nearly fifty years

earlier in Federalist No. 10 that a large republic was not only a way to protect the rights of

individuals by ensuring that competing factions would keep anyone faction from gaining

too much power but also a means of maintaining order. In stating that: "It follows, from no

view of the subject, that a nullification of a law of the U.S. can as is now contended, belong

rightfully to a single State, as one of the parties to the Constitution; the State not ceasing to

avow its adherence to the Constitution; the state not ceasing to avow its adherence the

constitution. (Madison 41). A plainer contradiction in terms, or a more fatal inlet to

anarchy, cannot be imagined. This essay also reflects Madison’s desire to protect his legacy,

which indeed had a major role in conceptualizing a unique sense of American heroism

(Ransom 84-107).

If Madison as a founding father was a bit ignored for he as history revisions had

shown was more of a hero of an intellectual form, George Washington is perhaps the most

well-known founding father. It is easy to replicate this fact giving the statue of his heroic

legacy of building the American nation and being named the first president of the United

States of America. Washington was a thoroughly 18thcenturyfigure. Many historians

claimed that he was most certainly not what we would today call an intellectual. However,

he was a man of affairs. He knew how to run his plantation and make it pay. He certainly

29

ran Mount Vernon better than Jefferson ran Monticello (Chernow33-41). In fact, there

would have never been a United States of America without George Washington. John

Rhodehamel, author of George Washington: The Wonder of the Age asserted how

Washington successfully guided the budding nation through war and nurtured it in peace.

He claimed that despite being successful as a military leader, he did not quite match other

historical military figures such as Julius Caesar, Alexander the Macedonian, or Napoleon.

However, his legacy was equally enormous. Rhodehamel noted that George Washington

was a great heroic figure, not by being a great general, a potent political theorist, or even a

clever politician. And yet, he was admired by generals, political theorists and politicians.

For, he was a man whom great men trusted. Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin

Franklin, James Madison and so many others looked up to him and believed in his

trustworthy statue as the leader of the continental regular army according to the provisions

of the Articles of Confederation and later the first president for the United States of

America (Rhodehamel 57-64).

Washington had a deep impact on the establishment of the unique American heroism.

Through his achievements, he helped in adding some standards and values that made

American heroism quite extensible and eccentric. Courage, integrity, and wisdom, were

Washington’s everlasting values that shaped his character as a quite remarkable American

hero. Many Scholars argued that Washington’s courage was never a matter of doubt.

Washington was bold to the point of rashness as a young man; he fought with the British

against the French over the control of the Ohio Valley, and then the Western-most point of

the American wilderness. Throughout that conflict, known as the French and Indian War,

and the American Revolution, Washington’s presence and contributions were matchless.

30

His aides often struggled to keep him from surging too far ahead of his own troops.

However, the sense of his leadership was always present in battlefields (Barton 44- 61

Amazingly, some would say miraculously, he was never wounded, not as much as a

flesh wound. By the time the revolution broke out in April of 1775, Washington was firmly

committed to the cause of American independence. He arrived to Philadelphia in May of

that year to offer his services to the Continental Congress. He was quickly made

commander of the new rebel army. There was only one problem; there was no army to

speak of. There was just a rag-tag collection of state militias. A question of how was

Washington going to defeat the greatest military force in the world with a no great army

was raised. It was a problem the general struggled with for eight and a half years. That he

managed to hold the army together, organize it into a disciplined fighting force and guide it

to victory was testament to his fortitude, his patience, and his personal bravery. Of his

integrity, one need only to look at what he did when the war ended: exactly what he

promised to do when the war began. He resigned his military command and went home to

Mt. Vernon. By stepping down, Washington raised himself up as the embodiment of

republican heroism (Connel 19-24).

3. Jackson and FDR:The Continuation of a Legacy

Undeniably, Andrew Jackson was probably the most controversial figure in the

American history. He marked his glorious legacy as an American hero by being the first

president to rise from a low social position to the White House by a popular demand.

Although he had no problem with slavery, he was adamant about preserving the Union

against secession and nullification (Warshauer 33). Furthermore, he is the president who

responded to a victory in the U.S. Supreme Court in favor of Indians of the Five Civilized

31

Tribes keeping their property by ignoring the judiciary ruling and sending the Army to

forcibly drive the Indians out of their homes and off to what is now Oklahoma, an

unconstitutional act that led to the death of thousands along the “Trail of Tears.” Which

had been described as cruel and barbaric by many, and a brave and an essential move that

guaranteed the upstanding of a great and enormous nation, as well as, realizing the idea of

“the frontier”, which Americans were entitled to occupy (Satz 48).

Jackson's election was more democratic than any previous presidential election. More

people were able to vote. This point demonstrates the value that this controversial president

had added sense of American heroism by glorifying the sense of the common man and the

necessity to the sense of American heroism by of standing up for the freedom to speak up

your mind (Cole 82). Furthermore, Jackson was a well-known war hero, and he was elected

over his longtime political enemy, John Quincy Adams. Once Jackson was in office, he did

more to expand executive power than any of the previous occupants of the White House.

He used armed troops to collect taxes, refused to enforce legislation and Supreme Court

legislation, and hired and fired his staff based on support in elections. He was also the first

president to regularly wield the presidential veto as a political tool (Heilder& Jeanne 69).

To admit that Jackson was an American hero by all standards is not an understatement.

According to Professor Amy H. Sturgis, Andrew Jackson frequently appears in top ten lists

of great presidents of the United States. For, he was a champion of the common man, Son

of the frontier, a war hero, and an enemy of the elite and a champion of the United States

Union. Sturgis argues that most of these reasons are in fact myths when they are analyzed

in greater depth. For instance, Jackson engaged in several unauthorized activities during

war like invading foreign territory that he was not authorized to invade and executing non-

32

US citizens he was not authorized to execute. This reflects Jackson’s determination to go

beyond rules, and serving what is best for the common interest by challenging the rules and

taking full responsibility, a point can only be linked to American heroism (42-48).

Additionally, many of the reform efforts that came out of the so-called Jacksonian

revolution made Jackson appear as a champion of the common man. More, Jackson's battle

with the National Bank, Sturgis argues, gave the illusion that Jackson was an enemy of the

elite. Although Jackson was constitutionally sound in challenging the National Bank, his

reasons for doing so were more personal than legal. This fact shows the quite playful side

of Jackson which is linked to heroism. Having the sense of whit and the ability to stir the

mobs’ minds into whatever thought that can serve the hero’s cause even if it doesn’t mean

to fully actualization of it (Measham21-24).

Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s presidency era was major factor that enhanced the

sense of American heroism. For, it was a crucial phase that presented the unique exclusive

American values on an international scale. Franklin Roosevelt is considered as modern

political American hero for he steered the nation through its worst economic crisis. In

addition to, his successful leadership while facing one of the most horrific wars in history.

In His terms of presidency, there was a great expanding in the economical power of the

United states that reinforced the country’s chances and paved the way for USA to become

one of the world’s super powers in the postworld war II era. Regardless of the fact that

Roosevelt (commonly known as FDR) spent much of his adult life in a wheelchair, he

successfully reshaped the image of the American hero. It is ought to his achievements,

American heroism had became closely linked to intelligence, decisive leadership, and the

audacious confidence in his decision making and ideologies. As a result, a whole

33

generation of Americans grew up knowing no other president as FDR served an

unprecedented four terms in office. For, it was a public demand that Roosevelt must keep

on serving as president. Roosevelt's social programs reinvented the role of governme nt in

Americans' lives. In fact, Americans had a major faith and trust in their governments due to

the correct political choices of Roosevelt (Powell 54-57).

In fact, As world war II loomed after 1938, Roosevelt‘s initial interest was to

improve the American nation’s infrastructure. He provided Farmer leap, flood control,

water power and giant public works. Consequently, the price of gold was fixed and the

American dollar became the soundest in the world. The country held its leader as a

pathfinder and a unique figure that resembled American heroism (Dallek 54-61-69).

Investment in the sense of American heroism helped Franklin Roosevelt in stabilizing the

situation, both locally and internationally, in a phase whereas America knew its most

restless moments in the country’s recent history. Despite facing titanic physical challenges

of his own, Franklin D. Roosevelt imbued America with the indomitable fortitude and

sense of morale that was required to spur the nation to victory and the leadership of the

world. As U.S. involvement in World War II was about to begin, FDR’s health began to

fail and on April 12, 1945, the 32nd president of the United States shocked the nation when

he died of a cerebral hemorrhage (Ferrell 89-92)

4. 20th Century Heroism: Change in Dynamics

By the second half of the 20thcentury, there was a radical change on the concept of

American heroism. Post world war era managed to add more qualities to American heroism.

The characteristics of American heroism devoured and surpassed the limited definitions

that were represented by since the declaration of independence. American heroism features

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and characteristics expanded and became no longer exclusively linked to numerous

characteristics such as being a leader or having any kind of political or military influence,

belonging to a given political or geographical side, or being a man of the state. Post world

war era witnessed a rise in the American values which American heroism was built upon,

the ascension of America as the world greatest economic and military superpower changed

the dynamics (Fettweis 74).

Notably, the concept had expanded to include variant categories of society that their

actions, attitudes, and stands made an outstanding addition the American values and helped

in forming modern American heroism. The latter turned into an international phenomenon

thanks to globalization. Globalization had helped in spreading American values especially

vales that are deeply linked to American heroism on an international scale. Moreover, it

promoted to the concept as a flexible, successful and prevailing mind set. There were many

other circumstances besides globalization that led to the blossoming of American heroism

and its expansion in terms of definitions and flexibility. Some of these circumstances were

internal such as the openness of USA on the world on the second half of the twentieth

century whereas it became the first destination for many competencies especially those

who come from countries affected from wars or corrupted political regimes. Moreover, the

wide acceptance that American society had shown for their country’s leading role in the

world and their aspiration to demonstrate American heroism as a dominant and a great

mind set to spread world- wide. In addition to, the ethnic, cultural, and civic diversity that

made American heroism available to attain despite race, gender or other factors.

Furthermore, the fierce competence with other major powers in the world reinforced the

USA’s international promotion to modern American heroism (Innis 47-51).

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A good example which illustrates modern American heroism lays in the figure of

James B.Donavan is considered to be a major heroic American figure for his attitudes that

were highly linked to the values that shaped American heroism at that time. Born in

February 29th, 1916, James Britt Donavan was an American lawyer and a United States

Navy officer, and then he became an international diplomatic negotiator (Bigger 3-4). He is

widely known of defending Soviet spy Rudolf Abel, despite the popular opposite that he

received at the time, For the two nation were in a course of a Cold War. In 1957 Donovan

defended the Soviet Spy Rudolf Able in what was known as the Hollow Nickel Case.

Giving the fact that Able was convicted on charges of conspiracy by the FBI, many

Americans were in favor of applying a death sentence against him. However, despite the

challenges he faced, Donavan was successful in persuading the court not to impose a death

sentence. Because of his defense to Abel, Donavan received many life threatening notes,

and his dedication to ardently defend his client is considered as heroic (Bigger 93-98). The

sense of modern American heroism was present in Donavan’s actions and decisions. He

stood up for what he represented despite the fierce opposition Moreover, He accepted

taking a grand risk on his safety by appealing the case to the supreme court and challenged

the FBI by showing that there was a violation in the fourth amendment. Despite the

controversy he created at the time and the popular disapproval he received from American

society, Donavan was praised for his heroic stand of the embodiment of American values

that made it the first destination for liberalism and democracy.

American Heroism kept on evolving in its modern form surpassing many limited

considerations for who should be a hero such as: ethnicity, gender, political

orientation…etc into what an American hero is standing for, and the positive promotion of

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American values that demonstrates America’s greatness as a supreme democratic nation.

One of the most influential figures that represent a unique embodiment for American

heroism was nonetheless Martin Luther King Junior. Born in1929 in Atlanta, Georgia,

Martin Luther king Jr., is considered a major heroic American figure. His civil right

activism and seismic impact on race relations in the United States created played a pivotal

role in the refinement of American heroism, modernizing its conceptualization and

expanding its definition beyond race barriers. In fact, his leadership in the Afro-American

civil right movement had a deep impact on American heroism as a concept and a mindset.

King’s strive to achieve social justice for African-American communities were mainly

based on American values (Frady 12). These values that included many characteristics such

as aspiring for equality, liberty, individualism, leadership, and self reliance were a

determinant factor that shaped American heroism.

The leadership that Martin Luther King Jr., shown is by all means considered as a

part of American heroism. It was mostly based many principals, yet, the most important

principal was taking action in a nonviolent form (Margolick 61-69). The sense of

leadership that king created with the Civil Rights Movement was elementary for expanding

the sense of American heroism into a larger caption. King’s emergence to speak on behalf

of the aggrieved in the African-American society and standing up against the brutality of

racism had a major impact on reshaping the definition of modern American heroism into a

wider form. King’s actions and attitudes had helped a great deal in adding magnetic

qualities to modern American heroism. The most notable qualities that King had projected

as an American hero were power, warmth and presence. King conveyed a combination of

these qualities in a way that seemed to be natural. As a result, American heroism evolved in

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a sense that induced the mental state of glorifying American values and the right to apply

them despite gender, race, or ethnicity (Branch 21-33).

The expansion of into a wider form and the flexibility that American heroism had

developed into became highly linked to the American cultural characteristics. American

heroism was spread as superior mind set due to cultural promotion. As the second half of

the twentieth century witnessed an evolution in the domain of media, American heroism

was a major theme many televised works emphasized on. As a result, American was highly

embraced especially, by upcoming generations who were consistently exposed to the

values and characteristics of American heroism (Sokol 89).

One fine example that illustrates promotion to American heroism through cultural

influence is Walt Disney. Walt Disney is a major heroic American figure due to his

Achievements that were created starting from very humble roots. Born on December 5 th,

1901 in Chicago, Illinois, Walter Disney was a son of an immigrant family. He started as a

cartoonist in a newspaper and ended up as one of the best animators in History. Disney

gained a gigantic success due to many factors, but most importantly having an American

hero mind set. His actions, behaviors, and legacy illustrated a big deal the major

characteristics an American hero would have. He had a unique entrepreneurial spirit that

made a huge part of the unique American character (Goldberg 11-25). Disney had a vision

about the world he wanted to create in his field; therefore, he adhered to execute it despite

possible obstacles. What made Walt Disney different and quite competent to be a modern

American Hero was in the ways he reacted to failure. Disney had fortitude to face relentless

difficulties. By cultivating his constitutional unflappability, Disney was able to put his

dispositions as a shield to make him impervious against odds that were not in his favor.

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Despite suffering from many obstacles such as going bankrupt several times, Disney’s

sharp vision and knowing what he wanted to accomplish by seeking to set an audacious

objective, whenever he encounters failure (Williams & Denney 52-54). In fact, Disney

used modern American Heroism as an effective mindset not just to get over obstacles, yet

he surpassed himself and challenged it to redefine his limits by pushing beyond boundaries.

Consequently, He revolutionized some standards of American Heroism, set the bar high,

and made the concept quite easier and simpler to obtain by those who shared his

enthusiasm, deep work and resilience (Cockreel 64-69). Furthermore, Disney’s works and

products were a mass promotion to American heroism .by the constant embitterment of his

products, seeking to redefine the art form of animations, and making his work too good to

be ignored whenever his works faced setbacks, his products captured the imagination and

attention of a generation (Han 71-75). Disney brand was and still widely popular among

Americans, especially, children and young viewers. Most of Disney artworks and animated

movies expressed American heroism as a major theme within its content. In fact, Disney

production emphasized on spreading the positive side of the American character and

illustrated the importance of American values, which modern American Heroism is

consisted of. As a result, Disney productions have a major impact on promoting to

American Heroism as a necessary mindset to obtain.

The final decades of the twentieth century witnessed a mass emphasis on promoting

to American heroism through cultural art works. The spread of American culture

worldwide helped in maintaining the idea of heroism as an exclusive, unique, favorable,

and purely American concept. As a result, generations were brought up with the thought of

heroism is an equivalent to American heroism. Moreover, cultural art works proved to be a

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soft method that reinforced the statue of American heroism as a worldwide phenomenon

and an ideology to embrace by various categories of people.

A fine example that illustrates the deep impact of artworks creators on spreading

American heroism as the modern equivalent of heroism lays in the figure of Stan, lee. Stan

lee can be easily considered as a modern American hero, due to his legacy in the domain of

comic books and Marvel universe. Born as Stanley Martin Lieber in december28th, 1922,

Stan Lee grew up in an immigrant family that strived to make a living. He was a comic

book writer, editor, publisher who led Marvel to expansion from a small division of a

publishing house into a multimedia corporation, which dominated comic book industry.

After overcoming many obstacles, Stan Lee led created a business that promoted to modern

American heroism as a necessary ideology to embrace (Thomas 85-94).

As the superhero archetype in comics gained a major popularity amongst various

categories of people, Stan Lee was immensely creative in challenging the comic books

stereotype introductions, which were presented in the theme of heroism according to a

classic Greco-Roman perception. However, Stan Lee’s revolutionary artworks changed the

perception of heroism in the comic book industry into a modern American heroism

perception. Therefore, Stan lee started a new wave that paved the way for American

heroism to become a main dominant cultural ideology in the domain of comic books

(Bachelor 44).

Remarkably, Stan Lee made notable changes on his main characters and mainly

made the source of their heroism and mighty power linked to American values and

principles of modern heroism instead of linking them to a classical form of heroism.

Furthermore, Stan lee challenged the comic book code that denotes avoiding using themes

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on sex, drugs, and profanity and made his works include these themes. In fact, breaking the

code made Stan Lee’s works more appealing, surreal and connected with human emotions.

His characters were well known of being utterly human with super powers. Despite the

mighty power of lee’s characters, the center of focus was in their human side, their

complex emotions, and the way they dealt with the everyday life. Lee’s skill was in

crafting compelling characters and in the process, he influenced his readers’ perception on

heroism (Rhoades& Lee 25-28). Consequently, Stan Lee with his flawed heroes and

fantastic villains contributed to a major foreshadowing American heroism as a relatable

phenomenon. Furthermore, Stan lee transformed comics into a medium for change

especially on a political platform, for; he was not afraid to indulge politics in his works and

tackled the issues of the day within pages of his comics during the international conflict

between the western and eastern camps. As a result, an entire generation grew up with a

fixed idea that associates heroism to modern American heroism. Moreover, the idea of

heroism as a pure American creation became popular on a global scale due to Stan Lee’s

deep impact on the field of comic books (Smith 68-71-77).

The sense of modern American heroism kept on evolving for it became associated

with modern actions that challenged old-fashioned drastic methods in many fields. The

emergence of American heroism in these fields had ultimately contributed to an alteration

in consciousness and revolutionized the perception of forward dynamic statues, decisions,

or inventions in fields that grant mastery in understanding puzzles of natures, and problems

that appears every day. However, amongst the various fields which American heroism left

an impact on was notably the field of Science. Due to modern American heroism scientists

gained boost of courage to creatively express their and effect a mass number of people.

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An extraordinary example that illustrates the deep impact of American heroism was

present in the contributions of Carl Sagan. Born in November 9th, 1934 to an immigrant

family, Sagan was an American astronomer, astrophysicist, astro-biologist, author, science

popularize, and communicator. He is well known for his scientific contribution to the

search for extra progressiveintelligence, as well as, pioneering astrobiology. He hosted the

most watched show on American public television back then; “Cosmos”. Sagan’s show

inspired viewers’ wonder in space and their delicate balance in it. Growing in middle

classed family with humble roots; Sagan developed n admiration to science. What makes

Sagan stands out from other scientists in the domain of astronomy lays in the fact the he

was successful in popularizing astronomy, for he brought planetary science to the masses

within enthusiasm that stood out in an often dry academic field (Broad 3).

Alongside his contribution to science such as: Helping the climate mystery of

Venus,, and proving Mars color shifts were the result of high winds not changing season,

and working with a NASA group that picked site for the first space craft to land on Mars;

Sagan achieved worldwide fame with Cosmos the 13 part PBS miniseries accompanied

with books, both set records for audience and readership for the genre and his marveling at

the vastness of the universe whether it’d be stars, or atoms that made it (Kragh 22).

One remarkable fact that makes Sagan illustrates American heroism was in his in

the fact of his protest against Ronald Regan’s star wars defense system against the Soviet

Union. As a result, many republicans resented his opinions. However, he challenged this

fact and attended to win the public opinion for he not only wanted to educate people about

the grieve dangers of nuclear weapons, but also reshape their minds to embitter the world.

Moreover, Sagan challenged the international ignoring for climate change and campaigned

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against global Warming, which he considered as a threat to the man kind that demands an

international solution. He was extremely dedicated to the cause that he gotten arrested

while protesting (Wren 5).

It was American heroism that made Sagan push beyond his boundaries as a scientist,

which led eventually into changing our perception on the planet. Modern American

heroism that included taking action, handling responsibility, and standing up for one’s own

beliefs helped a great deal in reshaping American heroes and revolutionizing their methods.

American heroes in the modern form managed to release the perception of the identity of

heroism in traditional perception. Much of the transformation of heroism into modern

American heroism had carried much of glamour and enthusiasm within its sense, for it was

not only directed to a limited category of people but rather to wide masses on a global form.

Furthermore, modern American heroism contributed in growing the expectations of

achieving individual fulfillment, away from the agony of perfection of the traditional

definition of heroism. In addition to that, it helped growing the sense of defeating

immolation and striving for achieving merited success that is based on talent, creativity,

and hard work rather than, race, gender, or familial mediocrity. In a practical sense,

American heroism in its modern form connected people to various fields and rendered their

dependence on individualism achieve success despite challenges they might encounter.

Conclusion

American heroism has made long strives towards development. The Founding

Fatherspioneered the adoption and practice of heroism through their achievements.

Thephenomenon entered a new epoch through certain flexible needs. Appropriate political

and military climate participated in more flow of heroism to the extent that it became a

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purely American attitude. In politics, there existed many figures who set examples of

American heroism. Iconic figures as Washington, Madison, Jackson, and laterFDRplayed a

crucial role in building the nation. 1960’s Civil Rights Movement was reflected in the

creation of heroic figures who fiercely advocated the causes of people they represent.

Among many, Luther King stood heroically on the side of his ethnic group against

discrimination and other bad racial attitudes practiced by the Whites. James Donovan, Stan

Lee, Walt Disney, and Sagan were heroic figures; each in his own way.

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Chapter III

21st Century Challenges and Outlets: Stardom Vs Heroism

I. The Formation of Pliable American Heroism

The concept of American heroism witnessed a drastic evolutionary shift during the

new millennium. It is worth noting that Americanidentification and simultaneously

understanding of heroism changed through time. in his book The Image: A Guide to

Pseudo-Events in America, Daniel Boorstinintroduced the American new perception of

heroism and heroic behaviors. He stated that 20thcentury Americans viewed heroism

different than citizens of the 18th and 19thcenturies, and continuously 21stcentury views

would be, as well, different than the earlier. Before the new millennium, public news

traveled in a slow motion. Consequently, it took a good period of time for heroes to mingle

into public consciousness. Primarily knownthrough media, the achievements of those

considered as heroes are of a great importance compared to their public image (Boorstin

15-21). Before the coming of the 21st century, American heroes were understood to be

those who had contributed to the public good, sometimes at the cost of their own lives.

Consequently, political and military figures had more chance than others in taking a central

position when representing American heroism is taken into account. So, might scientists,

explorers, educators, writers, and religious leaders. American heroism equated to profound

societal contribution, commonly marked by difficulty, obstacles, pressure from public

opinion, and even danger (Boorstin 33-41).

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Then perception of the 21st century American heroism differs from other

connotations of the same term worldwide. During the 20th century as an example, people

were informed (news or other events) quickly through media sources like newspapers,

magazines, radio, and television. To far extent, media was successful in creating a short

gate "rapprochement" between the different American heroes and the public. More, it also

created and empowered certain images over specific heroes (Foner 6-9). However, with the

technological advancements and the facilities available,people sensed the newfound ability

to create theirhero. Boorstin considered the idea as among the many known features of the

American democracy; the nation is portrayed as a place where ordinary people vote, not

only for their governors but also for their “leaders” in other levels (Boorstin 279)

In fact, there was a shift in the criteria used to identify an American hero socially.

As it is still admired, success and especially career success, in any field of one’s choosing

received greater attention than the behind-the-scenes heads of less glamorous institutions.

Publications trumpeted attendance figures and salaries. Therefore, according to Boorstin

this transition is about the shift from American heroism that was based on deeds to

American heroism that is linked to high status in fields of public entertainment (42-48).

There are claims that 21st century American heroism has reversed or even softened this

change, the wide availability of computers and satellites enable people to create a new

virtual life that goes in parallel with the real one. Institutional leaders became famous not

for their years of hard work but for their moral indiscretions. In spite of the fact that this

claim cannot be generalized, one is greatly attracted by the heavy impact of public image

and the use of technological advancement to make an American hero nowadays (Sinek 62-

68).

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The fastening enhancement of technological advancements in the 21stcentury had a

deep impact on American heroism. Notably, many data in the standards that makes

someone an American hero had evolved in a manner that matches the changes of the new

millennium. In fact, as a flexible phenomenon, contemporary American heroism does not

match exactly its meaning in the founding fathers era or any other given era in the

American history.It evolved with the societal expectations and consideration for the quest

of becoming a hero.In its core, American heroism kept the same stable values such as

courage, challenging obstacles, individuality...etc;this played a profound role in

conceptualizing the phenomenon since the era of the founding fathers. However, there has

been a shift on the level of the foundations that makes an American hero. in contemporary

terms, American heroism became equivalent to many regards, most notably taking full

ownership, coping with hard circumstances, deep focus on objectives, and the excellence in

executing ideas, and generating fortune and success in any given field (Hunt 51-62).

II. American Life and the Need for Reshaping Heroism

Because of the continuous clashes with foreign powers and the local hard competition

mainly in economy for its significance in reinforcing its position worldwide, the presence

of American heroism became very essential. The American hero is required in the new

millennium for entrenching the American values, guaranteeing the preeminence of the

American lifestyle, and contributing to the perpetuation of the American hegemonic power

(Levin 71-77).

Considering the fact that the moral standards are relative (since standards are set by the

society itself), it is arguably notable that moral standards that defines 21st century American

heroismare linked to the values that were set by the American society according to what

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fits its considerations for morals. These deliberations were confirmed by many sociologists

such as Emil Durkheim, who considered that the only one force that can set morals is

society. this ideology is compatible with the notion that 21stcentury morals of American

heroism are absolute, yet relative and relevant into what matches the American society of

the new millennium (Durkheim 112-121). In fact, American heroism in this century kept its

reliance to the basic foundations of American heroism. However, the interest of American

heroism in the new millennium was directed towards relating values with attaining benefits.

Setting values that contributes in achieving benefits are linked to achieving personal

interest and striving for it. Hence, this helps in forming an American hero whose personal

success is reflected on a collective level and leads to achieve public interest. The focus on

achieving interest and evolution on the personal level, which reinforce creating a

competitive atmosphere, inspire others and reinforce the American dominance are the most

notable characteristics of the 21st century American hero (Fried&Hansson 25-31).

The necessity of the creation of American hero in the 21st century makes it safe to say

that there are many standards that make a heroic American figure. However, one can notice

the dominance of the economic field in this process. Most heroic figures reflect the

economic superiority of USA (Field41). This reflection is associated to many concerns that

contribute to developing the standards that make modern American heroes. However, there

are three major criteria that amalgamated together for a creation of an exhaustive image of

a modern hero: mentaland material constructions for American heroism in the new

millennium and the evolution of media and technological advancement.

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1. Mental Constructions of Modern American Heroism

21st century American heroism is implemented through a variety of mediums. The

variety of media sources as well as the technological enhancement contributed in

reinforcing the cognitive schemas about modern American heroism (Signorielli279). The

most important feature of the cognitive schemas drawn about an American hero lays in the

fact of challenging obstacles, aspiring for excellence, and looking forward for obtaining a

massive success. In fact, when it comes to mental construction; the American hero applies

an undivided attention in a hyper distracted age. Processing mental dedication to maintain

tasks and achieving a given purpose is a major characteristic that specifies a heroic

American figure. Moreover, the technological progress and the pace of globalization

contributed in creating a developed sense of American heroism that fits the demands of the

epoch. The role of the mental constructions for American heroism appears to be immense,

for it transformed the nature of the foundations of American heroism into much flexible

ones. The flexibility of the foundations, especially on a mental level, contributes in

absorbing knowledge, maintaining efficiency, and influencing people, all are necessary

factors related to the mental constructions of the American hero of the present day

(Ericsson44-48).

There are many heroic American figures that can be set as examples for the case of

mental constructions. Bill Gates stands out as the most notable person of interest.

Undoubtedly, his phenomenal character foreshadowed the massive developments in the

considerations that determine an American hero today. Born in Seattle, Washington, on the

28thOctober 1955, Bill Gates is an entrepreneur, programmer, investor, and philanthropist.

Along with Paul Allen, they co-founded Microsoft, the best software company in the world.

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In 2015, their revenues surpassed $110.4 billion. Bill Gates is the second richest man on

earth with a net worth of $100.6 billion. He was the CEO of Microsoft until January, 2000;

currently he is the technology advisor to CEO SatyaNadella who replaced him at

Microsoft.Bill Gates invested in the mental constructions of American heroism to create

one of the most impactful businesses in the 21st century. As a result, he is one of the best

known entrepreneurs of the personal computer revolution and consistently ranks in the

Forbs list of the world’s wealthiest people (Wallace 67-70).

Bill Gates preserved the principle of American heroism of achieving public interest by

being the second most generous philanthropist in America by donating over 20billion

dollars to charity. He contributed in giving a new vision for the American hero, most

particularly, the resilience of the mind set to achieve final objectives. By maintaining a

good amount of energy and an everlasting desire to remain in the learning mode, Gates

widened the image of the American hero; from a figure always related to bravery and

courage into a figure who strived for achieving excellence (Lowe 25-28).

Furthermore, Gates made delegation important for making an impact. Bill Gates

contributed in linking 21st American heroism with the necessity of collaboration in a given

task under a firm leadership. As a genius programmer, he insists on stating that he would

not have achieved major successes without the collaboration with other skillful people.

Gates’ actions devoured the American hero to be genuinely interested in others and

developed a network of connections that would help him in encountering success in his

field instead of emphasizing his attention on himself, which may embark him in a hyper

social age. Gates proved that influencing other people is one of the most important

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characteristics of the American heroism and highly linked to the unique mental

construction of the American hero (Edstrom &Eller 22).

In fact, Gates contributed in promulgating modern American hero by infusing a code

of extra ordinary mind as a major attribution. At this stage, it became necessary for the

American hero to possess an extraordinary mind to achieve extraordinary results.

Furthermore, processing an extraordinary mind maximizes the chances of attaining success

and reduces fear of failure. By setting self-fueled goals, and the wiliness to achieve mastery

(two major components of having an extra ordinary mind), An American hero would be

able to achieve his objectives as well as inspiring others, encouraging them, to take action

to fulfill their goals. Furthermore, having extra ordinary mind leads for growth on personal

and collective levels, as well as reliably generating efficiency, success, and procure public

interest (Carnige 48-51).

2. Material Constructions of Modern American Heroism

Recently, material constructions take a huge part in creating an American hero. These

constructions help in liberating the heroic figure from the strings of the different moral and

the religious restrictions. Material constructions contributed in liberating the modern hero

from the obligation of relating his image with the typical image of modern American

heroism as it was the case with the 20th century American hero. The latter was commonly

linked to the necessity of processing certain typical ethics. In fact, whilst mental

constructions enabled the modern American hero to reinforce his influence, material

constructions allow him to confirm his leverage (Grayson114-117).

Material constructions permit the American hero to obtain openness to change and

willingness to adapt according to the changes in a hyper capitalistic age. This depends on

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efficiency and excellence in evaluating success. Furthermore, material constructions yield

the American hero of nowadays to the principal of realism and keeping pace with the epoch

away from the archetype of moral idealism and the dominance of the moral side

(Zafirovski 84). As a matter of fact, what determines the21st century hero through the

material constructions is his ability to invest in material resources as money in addition to

his non-full commitment to moral and religious obligations. However, he remains related to

the basic foundations that signified the American hero such as individualism, courage,

ownership, and contributing in making public goodness (Brooks 74). There are many

examples that illustrate American heroism through material constructions most notably Jeff

Bezos.

Bornin January the 12th, 1964, Jeff Bezos is a great illustration for 21st American

heroism. Starting from humble roots, Bezos stood out as a heroic American figure who

built a massively successful company that had a major impact on flourishing the economy.

Bezos is an internet entrepreneur, industrialist, mediaproprietor, andinvestor. He is widely

known as the founder, CEO, and the president of the multinational technology company

Amazon which is currently the largest online retail company in the world. What signifies

Bezos’ position as a major heroic figure is his ability to invest in the material constructions

and generate a massive fortune out of it. He initially realized that the evolution of internet

would revolutionize modern societies and the way people perceive their daily needs.

Therefore, he became a mythical figure in the business world and surpassed many rich,

powerful, and influential figures (Macgregor 12-22).

Descending from a middle class family, Bezos founded the largest commerce company

in human history. Years before Bezos’ net worth surpassed 100 billion dollars, he built his

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way up to success through retrieving himself from moral obligations and focusing on

attaining benefits and generating fortune. His managerial style, which lacks compassion

with mistakes of employers, and strictness resulted in efficiency and gigantic success. He

led his company to launch web services which compiled data from weather traffic

(Macgregor 54).

However, he faced vital challenges as the financial distress when revenue stagnated

due to the massive spending of the company. Yet, Bezos managed to get over this distress

due to the sense of American heroism he processed. Bezos closed distributions and lay off

14% of the Amazon work force to keep his company economically strong. As unethical as

it sounds, Bezos was courageous and challenged moralities for materialism. His deep focus

was on generating success and efficiency even on the account of work ethics. As a result,

his company rebounded from the financial distress and turned a profit of 400 million

Dollars (Reynolds 55-63).

Bezos leadership style and core philosophies that buoyed his success appeared to have

a direct link with the values of modern American heroism. For instance, Amazon; Bezos

company performs a deep focus on customers. Instead, with starting with an idea for a

product and trying to convince executives that customers will love it, Amazon works from

the perspective of the customer to come up with ideas that legitimately generate value. As

an example, Prime, which is a service that Amazon Company offers to customers, was

created because it was believed that within Amazon some customers wanted to buy quality

products for less money, as well as receiving them as fast as possible. Hence, time

appeared to be a solution would meet both of these customers’ needs regardless of his

methods, Bezos succeeded in making a great company. His strategies involved reinvesting

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all of Amazons’ capital back into business. These strategies are but a proof that confirms

his correlation with American heroism especially in the core value of taking risks (Brandt

77-81)

3. Technological advancement and its influential role in making American heroes:

The evolution of mass media in the 21st century led to gaining certain social roles.

Crucial among these roles are surveillance, correlation, and guiding public opinion. In fact,

all these roles contribute mainly in setting viewers’ perspective on American heroism and

convince them with the importance of the heroic American figures as inspiring leaders for

this century. While the surveillance of media involves routine journalistic function of

monitoring events and reporting in news, one cannot ignore the massive attention this role

plays in conveying information fast on American heroic figures, hence, the stream of

consciousness of the society and the awareness of the significance of such heroes grows

(Podar 22-24).

Furthermore, therole correlation, which media plays nowadays due to the immense

technological advancement deals with interpreting issues in the news for the purpose of

building knowledge and coordinating opinions. This purpose is considered a major factor

in shaping public opinion of the American society towards American heroes in this century.

It contributes in facilitating the acceptance of the heroic American figure if this figure

matches the values and principles of American heroism of the 21st century, despite other

consideration such as, moral, religious, or even racial factors (Podar 30-32).

There is a remarkable overlap between the two roles, surveillance, and correlationas

opinions cannot be formed without information. In fact, informed opinions are based on

adequate, accurate and authoritative information. Thus, by disseminating news and further

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engaging in discussion and analysis of major issues; that some American figures stand out

within it, the news delivered by media shape and influence public opinion. In addition to

that, it establishes a core perspective which indicates that mass media engage in

construction and reconstruction of public opinion through agenda setting and framing.

(Podar 27) Hence, this foreshadows the deep impact of media in forming the image of the

American hero and promoting its crucial role. As for the role of guiding public opinion,

mass media present a model depicting a cyclical process by which it sets agenda, through

selective news presentation, through discussions that tries to involve the viewers in the

process, thereby giving direction for public opinion. The opinion formed could result in

actions and events, which are further reported in the news based on their news values

(Podar 44-49).

The evolution of media and other technological advancements in the 21st century

produced a relation between media and social control. The role of media in the society has

changed significantly which is evident in the development of social controls. The drastic

development in perceiving American heroism is a product of social control. Social controls

shape the behavior of individuals in the society, which in turn shape their view and

perspectives of cases including the identification of the American hero (Colingridge 53).

The understanding of individual success can be shaped by the concept or approaches

developed by the society which in its turn perceives it from information displayed by media.

The individual approach of understanding concepts, including American heroism, is not

determined by personal choices. Rather, it depends mainly on media and technological

tools. Furthermore, public guiding role played by media enhances Social imagination,

which is the understanding of the social outcomes as a product of the social context and

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social actions. Social imagination is the ability to perceive issues and things in a social

context. According to Mills, the power of social imagination is based on the ability to

connect personal troubles to social issues (Qtd in. Fuller 87). In many ways, it is pointed

out that social imagination role in enhancing the statue of the modern American hero.

Notably, social imagination increases the awareness of American heroism’s vital role

in setting tremendous example for both individual and collective success. The power of

social imagination cannot be envisioned, especially when it is guided by media. Thus,

contemporary American heroism was well spread and widely accepted because of the

impact of media in guiding public opinion. However, there is an exception when a person

is able to evaluate alternative view of that presented by the society, thus; evaluating the

social conditioning placed by the society on the person. Yet, this view remains quite related

to media role in guiding public opinion and influencing individual views on American

heroism. Media and technological advancement play a significant role in developing an

understanding of social and individual standards of American heroism in this century such

as success, efficiency, fame, and wealth (Gorman &Mclean 24-29).

Social imagination led to signifying the image of the American hero and contributed in

making many heroic American figures idols. Those figures were given such a title because

of several achievements based on the nature of the achievement. Despite the fact that the

creation of idols in the society has led to loss of the personal focus; however, it grew the

awareness to the importance of American heroism, due to the information oriented by

media. The impact of media is visible in the change of addressing the theme of American

heroism in this century; as American heroes nowadays are becoming more approached to

public (Vinet 33).

56

The influence of media in guiding public opinion revealed how a wide category of

people tend to emulate the behavior of heroic American figures. Although, a close scrutiny

of current American heroes indicates the nature of human flaws and behavior, media tend

to focus on the outcome and success they obtain in order to promote to 21st century

American heroism in a manner that suits current viewers’ logical perspectives on it. Hence,

it is evident that media hype influenced the society’s imagination of the 21st century

American heroism by changing its values in a manner that matches the standards that

makes a heroic figure today (Vinet 45-48).

Major fine example that illustrates the role of media in shaping 21st century American

heroism lays in the figure of Oprah Winfery. Born as Oprah Gail Winfery in January 29th,

1954 in Kosciusko, Mississippi, Oprah descends from a middle class family and became

one of the best known media faces in history (Kelly 5). She is a talk show host, television

producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. Oprah gained a major fame following the

buzz of “The Oprah winfery Show” which is an American day time syndicated talk show

that lived 25 years. The show was highly influential and tackled many themes that

penetrated into the American culture, society, family, and consciousness. In a manner of

matching the basic foundations of American heroism such as achieving public interest,

Oprah used the show for many beneficial purposes that served the society. She mainly used

her show as an educational platform, featuring interviews, self-improvement segments,

book clubs, and even philanthropic forays. The show was the highest rated television

program of its kind in history that ran in national American television (Kelly 11-33-58).

Arguably,Oprah’s stardom has undergone a symptomatic shift due to the major success

of her show.21st century version ofAmerican heroism included female figures that signified

57

and referred to their own efficiency and success. Winfery’s achievements and use of media

in guiding public opinion contributed to enhancing the notion of female presence in 21st

century American heroism. Female heroic figures showed that norms and criteria are no

longer relied on any sense of mythic, inaccessible, traditional seductive manners but on

deep and well planned work. Generally, while female heroic figures did not match male

figures achievement and presence in history, modern type of American heroism appears to

be radical for female American heroes. They stood up, as Oprah, contributed in balancing

the influence of the American hero between male and female figures. Through utilizing

Media, Oprah was able to guide public opinion in demonstrating the position of the female

heroism within the process. Oprah proved that females are able share a partial role in

leadership and social influence and deserve to be referred to as American heroes by today’s

standards that judge the hero by his or her achievements rather than gender (Kelly 58-63).

What signifies Oprah as a heroic figure lays in the fact that she used media as a tool

that brought the American hero close to the public. By exposing topics about the separation

between the public figure and the private self, such a notion suggests that heroic figures

have come to speak implicitly and explicitly about the distinct process of an American hero

construction in the public domain, ultimately merging the two aforementioned binaries

together and demystifying their stardom in the process. Oprah helped great deal in pulling

attention towards shifting American heroism currently. She has also contributed in marking

different relationship between the embodiment of a heroic American figure and the

American public (Becker 54).

Due to the massive development of media and the acceleration of technological

advancements, Oprah became a figure that needs no introduction. Her fame went beyond

58

the American society and she became well known worldwide. At the age of 32, Oprah

became a millionaire and later a billionaire before the age of 50. Yet, she was not so far

removed from the struggles of her past. For, she walked on the path of heroic American

figures, who understood that obstacles they faced were the way to success. Oprah earned

the title of “queen of media”, and she’s considered by many as the most influential woman

in the world. The powerful impact she has while endorsing a product, a politician, or an

idea became known as the Oprah effect because it enabled her persuading a wide category

of people in believing in what she says. This can be but a proof for her sense of heroism

and leadership (Kelly 71-78).

Although it seems hard to imagine that Oprah turned into the powerful heroic figure

she became today starting from very humble roots, yet she proved that the American hero’s

journey to success is still full of challenges even in this century. She grew up in

troublesome conditions that included being born to a single teen mother, growing in an

unstable financial circumstance, and the worst of them all was when she was a victim of a

sexual assault at a very young age. Despite this dark beginnings and challenges, Oprah

began developing a powerful vision that drove her forward.Oprah strongly believed that

intentional thoughts have the power to shape an individual’s reality. She revealed that by

visioning one’s self to success and dedicating him or herself despite struggles they may

encounter; they’d be able to achieve their goals (Winfrey 55).

Oprah encountered many challenges in the beginning of her career, including the

doubts that she had to put up with concerning if her show would be able to gain an

audience taking in account her gender, race, and background as possible factors to be a

major obstacles. However, she was able to silence these doubts by turning her weakness

59

into strength and managed to gain a huge national sensation. After suffering in her early

teen years, Oprah took a decision to turn her life around and correcting its course. She

began working at a radio station while she was in high school, and later on while studying

in college she caught the attention of CBC station who offered her a job as a news anchor

on a national station. By the age of 19 years old, Oprahbecame the youngest anchor in the

U.S.She also was the first female African American news anchor nationwide (Kelly 33-64-

89).

However, the struggles did not end there, as she was fired seven months later because

the producer questioned her capacities. Yet, she did not allow this incident discourage her.

In fact, after taking few low profile media job, she was able to land on her big opportunity

after she was asked to host a morning show with very poor ratings. Within months, Oprah

utilized her charismatic sense and leadership and transformed the show into a highly

successful one she understood that vulnerability was her greatest strength, as a result she

invested in media and devoted her talents and managed to give 21st American heroism a

new layer. Due to Oprah’s contributions, the American hero of the 21st century gained the

characteristic of empathy and vulnerability, which he can use in order to influence society

and direct the public opinion’s support (Kelly 89-94).

In short, Oprah contributed in making the image of the American hero quite realistic

and unconditioned with certain privileges that The American hero used to be labeled with

such as his gender, background, or race. Her mark on 21st century American heroism was

quite notable; for, she mainly aided in pulling the attentions towards a certain category of

people. (females and people who belong to racial minorities in USA) .Moreover, she made

the heroic American figure quite reliable, and reconciled with his vulnerability by investing

60

in the evolution of media. As a consequence, this led to make the American hero quite

authentic and beloved across the spectrum (Kelly 105-112).

Technological advancement was crucial on the development of 21st century American

heroism. One of the major aspects of technological advancement in this century lays in

social media, which became a global platform that shapes the public’s minds on different

phenomena including American heroism. During current increasing digital world,

American heroism witnessed an explosive growth. Many figures who matched the

standards of 21st century American heroism gain this characteristic due to their investment

in technological advancement and the evolution of social media. A number of terms were

referred to this innovative form of heroism; however, the most notable term used is “social

media influencers”. Those influencers contributed in one way or another in setting new

dynamics for American heroism that were the inevitable option result of for the wide

spread of social media (Boyd 33).

Many figures found their way up to success and achieved quite innovative business

due to their impact on social media platforms. Influencers utilized social media to master

fundamentals of businesses the created. Social media offered a wide space for influencers

to display their ideas, without having to tight them down with the rules of the traditional

market codes. In other words, it was a massive platform for business framework that

influencers used to succeed. Consequently, this huge success for some influencers matched

the standards that makes the hero of today, and led into making a major shift in the

dynamics that constructs American heroism (Sales 36-38).

Social media seem to have a reoccurring pattern in term of creating a massively

successful business, hence; enduring into an American hero by today’s standards. At the

61

heart of every business that stands out from social media platforms there are major five

parts: value creation, marketing, sales, value delivery, and finance. Without anyone of

these parts a business can’t solidly succeed in social media, thus, it directly affects the

statue of influencers as heroic American figures. A venture that doesn’t have any value

creation, marketing, sales, value delivery, and finance is unprofitable, and evitable to flop

and lose its audience. As a result, influencers who set their ventures based manage to attain

successful business in addition to a wide impact on public opinion; hence it is not a mistake

to describe them as innovative American heroes (Freitas 22-34).

In order to understand why some social media influencers can be easily described as

American heroes, beyond their achievements which matched the foundations of American

heroism today, one can note major points that support this claim. However, there are two

major characteristics that define why influencers manage to obtain success, while the

majority of social media platform do not. These two characteristics that drive public

opinion and affect its decisions are: convenience and high-fidelity. Convenience is

associated with quickness, flexibility, and easiness of influencers in setting their ideas and

persuading people with its importance. High-fidelity, however, is associated with high

aesthetic appeal, emotional impact, and high social status of influencers that leads a wide

category of people to attempt to imitate those influencers, hence accepting their vital roles

as American heroes (Ruddock 81_84).

Social media is a major component that influencers used to attract and hold attention of

public opinion. Influencers’ sense of American heroism seem to be related of how well

they are able to attract people’s attention, and how well they will be able to persuade their

followers to accept their ideas as a manifestation for living. In his book the purple cow,

62

author Mark Golden conveyed an illustrative principal that can be related to influencers’

current dominance on public opinion. According to Golden, any business that possesses the

purple cow effect, which is an example given by Golden to illustrate how slightly different

phenomenon in shape catches a wider attention, would evaluate people’s focus towards

what they believe it looks remarkable. Furthermore, influencers gained the ability to

provide social proof of wealth, and success through social media platforms (Golden 42).

Hence, influencers became a key contributor for generating success for ideas, brands,

products and businesses through mastering the use of social media. As a result, 21st century

American heroism became validate description for influencers who not only guide public

opinion and achieve success, but also managed to invest in social media platform to build

authentic businesses (Cialdini 71-75).

Major example that illustrates the possibility of linking 21st century American heroism

lays in the figure of the Kardashian-Jenner Sisters. The Kardashian-Jenner sisters are the

key figures in their family who rose to fame, wealth, and became widely known as the most

impactful influencers in the world. The Kardashian-Jenner sisters had a major role in

capitalizing and promoting to American heroism. Giving the fact that 21st century

American heroes can arguably be put into the category of powerful influencers. The

Kardashian-Jenner sisters appear to have all the potentials to be listed in the blank of 21st

century American heroism as a result of their gigantic success. The Kardashian family is

very prominent in the field of entertainment, fashion design, and businesses. However, they

earned a wide fame through social media platform namely their reality TV show: Keeping

up with the Kardashians, which is a show that tackles real life events of the Kardashian-

63

Jenner family. It started on 2007 and still running till nowadays as one of the most

successful TV shows in history

The Karadashians are very significant for they attained huge success without being

indulged in principal domains that capture the highest rates of attention such as politics,

acting, or music. They were mainly indulged in the world of reality TV, and over a decade,

they managed to have people racing to keep up with their antics. Undoubtedly, the

kardashians played a significant role in reinforcing a new charisma for the American hero.

Notably, most of the Kardashians’brands, products, and businesses are not necessarily

original, However, their Charismatic appeal and strong presence on social media platform.

According to author Olivia Cobain, Charismatic people seem to have a magnetic quality

that tends to easily make a huge impact on people. By engaging in the qualities that display

charisma, The Kardashians reshaped the image of the 21st century American hero as

powerful influencers who successfully generated a massive promotion to American

heroism through social media (Cobain 33).

Conclusion

American heroism evolved massively during the 21st century. The practices of the

word “American hero” had drastically changed into what matches the millennium’s unique

standards that illustrate the basics of American heroism. Furthermore, it appears that the

existence of a modern American hero is vitally important for increasing the American

position on both global and local levels and enhancing the sensation of individual quest for

success. However, there are notable considerations that make modern American heroism.

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General Conclusion :

As a final to say, one is not to defy the level of revolutionary transformation of the U.S

ran and inspired by its heroic figures. The present study is a humble attempt to answer the

question long posed:how heroism evolved in its American version? Since American heroic

figures’ impact on the American society was defined by its ties with political leadership

then later evolved into economical rise, and the philanthropy they provided. More or Less,

it is quite evident that the consideration for the quality o an American hero evolved and

shifted through the eras.

Additionally, while American heroic figures illustrated in the study, were subject to

subject to criticism and disapproval by many, they were still growing their impact, success,

and empires of philanthropy: using their voice to speak up for the weak, building the

economy of USA, and promoting to American culture worldwide. Through the merging of

the doctrines of American superiority, capitalism, and individualism, Creativity was

embraced and technological advancement reached its peak. These figures are ought to be

offered a positive impression, for their achievements as heroic American figures, and

individuals of inventiveness whose hard work and ingenious strategies transformed the

American statue through the different eras of U.S. history. These figures are to also be

privileged for their charitable activities and setting a role model for the American virtues.

Throughout this work, it comes to certainty that American heroism as a sensation and

a phenomenon is an indicative key to success for many figures, who contributed in building

the American nation and enhanced its economy with their achievements. In the course of

time, doctrines and strategies set by American heroes were held in application within the

American society by extracting the mere best of them, and most importantly, they were

65

applied at optimum by individuals who were influenced and inspired by the success of

these heroes, according to what matches the standards of each era. Overall, the question of

idealism andethics were non-peripheral standard for the measurement of these figures’

values. Yet, the analysis and the results pose far dimensional question: does relativity of

ethics and idealism truly overweigh the role of the American version of heroism’s role in

enhancing U.S.A’s statue (taking in consideration that it evolves continuously according to

the standards of each era.)? Obviously, idealism is a traditional idea, while ethics are

naturally relative and from a rational standing point being ethical is executing your work

punctually and rightly. Therefore, ethics and idealism had never been the basic question of

the American version of American heroism, nor a question for the nation’s progress since

every action, attitude, and policy were applied by American heroes in order to maintain

success. Moreover, the American society displayed acceptance for those heroes’ methods

due the tremendous growth and development attained as a result. Finally, this research

opens different doors for other researchers to review and revise history and rewrite it taking

into consideration that breaking many taboos and, constructing and deconstructing events is

not horrible as historically conveyed.

66

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