![]() ![]() leaders also made some smart decisions that took advantage of these lucky breaks. That free security also permitted the United States to be the last major power to enter both wars, to suffer the fewest losses, and to emerge in a dominant position when the fighting stopped. soil during the War of 1812, and the continental United States was effectively unscathed during the two world wars that decimated Europe and Asia during the 20th century. Even Britain lost some 50,000 civilians to German bombings during World War II. Apart from Britain, every other major power has been invaded at least once in the past 200 years, and several of them have been conquered and at least temporarily occupied. Indeed, no other great power has enjoyed the so-called free security that America has possessed since its founding. And at that moment, the Monroe Doctrine of 1823 became a reality. By 1900, British concerns about a rising Germany led them to abandon their territorial claims in the Pacific Northwest and South America and appease the United States. The United States gradually attracted more attention as it expanded across the continent and took Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California from Mexico, but the European powers spent most of the time competing with each other and for the most part left the United States alone. War in Europe also helped the United States survive its foolish decision to invade Canada in the War of 1812 Britain was too busy defeating Napoleon to turn its full strength against its obnoxious former colonists. France backed the American Revolution in order to weaken its British rival, and the new nation doubled its territory when Napoleon needed money to wage war in Europe and was willing to sell the Louisiana Purchase at a bargain price. And from the very beginning, the United States benefited from rivalries among the existing great powers. But in addition to the considerable cruelty displayed toward the native population and the slaves imported from Africa, good fortune played a major role as well.Īmericans were fortunate that North America was rich with natural resources and fertile land, traversed by navigable rivers, and had a mostly temperate climate. For a little while.Īmericans like to attribute this remarkable story to their ancestors’ virtues, the enlightened wisdom of the Founding Fathers, and the intrinsic merits of America’s peculiar blend of liberal democratic capitalism. That ascent didn’t stop until the end of the 20th century, when victory in the Cold War left the United States alone at the pinnacle of power. But in less than a century and a half, those 13 original colonies had expanded across North America, survived a civil war, driven other great powers from the Western Hemisphere, and created the world’s largest and most dynamic economy. When the colonies gained independence, they were weak, poor, and fractious. ![]() It began as a set of marginal European outposts, separated from the settlers’ home countries by a difficult sea voyage. The United States is the luckiest country in modern history.
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