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As the cultural historian Lawrence Samuel notes, "There really is no single, identifiable American Way and never has been." The phrase is an amorphous one that was used often prior to the 20th century, but in ways not really specific to the Superman slogan until the 1920s:
And what is the "American Way"? It can be summed up in two words -- voluntary cooperation. This means that a free people has learned how to work together and to work successfully, without surrendering the individual freedom of its members. It means that the government exists for the citizen, not the citizen for the government; that an American is free to choose his own work and is protected in the enjoyment of the fruits of his labor.
-- The American Ways, Bank of the Manhattan Company, 1924
Compare with What is the "American Way"? (Harry Lloyd Hopkins) from 1938:
The American way is more than a set of constitutional enactments for judicial inerpretation. It is the indwelling spirit of our economic and social order. Like all great things, it may be summed up in a few guiding principles. These are, First, religious liberty; second, freedom of thought and expression; third, the dignity and value of the individual; and fourth, the opportunity of every person to earn an honorable living.
In 1944, a group of Hollywood directors, productors, and others in the motion picture industry formed the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals. They soon after wrote
We believe in, and like, the American Way of Life; the liberty and freedom which generations before us have fought to create and preserve . . . the right to succeed or fail as free men, according to the measure of ability and our strength . . . we find ourself in sharp revolt against a rising tide of Communism, Fascism, and kindred beliefs, that seek by subversive means to undermine and change this way of life.
