Worthless article yields nothing for American (6)
I believe the answer is:
abject
'worthless' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
I can't explain the remainder of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for abject that I've seen before include "Of the most contemptible kind" , "Lacking all dignity" , "Extremely humble" , "Lacking all pride, grovelling" , "Low in spirit or hope" .)