For this we may start all the way back at the founding of the nation. Heralding John Winthrop's famous metaphor as the new state being a "City upon a hill"9 the puritan founders have implemented an idea that the New England community would grow to become a model for the rest of humanity. This was continued through to the constitution. Versteegt and Zackin link exceptionalism and the constitution so closely that they integrated them into one title of "American Constitutional Exceptionalism"10. They state that differences in the Constitution "have led many to conclude that there is something different about Americans and their vision of government that is reflected in their very different Constitution."11 Moreover the link between the two is further evidenced from a survey conducted in 2010. In this survey 80% of Americans agreed with the statement "the United States has a unique character because of its history and Constitution that sets it apart from other nations as the greatest in the world."12 Clearly here the statement is a fairly loaded one, yet interestingly it is the reference to the constitution which is placed to persuade Americans that they are exceptional. Interestingly the first scholarly mention of the term American exceptionalism actually comes from a man called Max Lerner in his book titled "America as a Civilization".13 He mentions that one of the main institutions that is singled out as the root of American exceptionalism, is the constitution. He wrote; "For a century and a half the worship of the Constitution has been part of American traditional thought and emotion. It may have taken root as a way of giving Americans the sense of their place in the sun, after the struggle for freedom."14 .
There is an enormous sense of pride surrounding the constitution, and it is clear to see why. For Americans what claims their pride is the declaration of the independence.