How did the United States become the world’s largest power?
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The western world got ahead with good steel technology and gunpowder. This put us ahead of the rest of the world. It also prepared us for i industrialization.
A continent with a relatively sparse population. A wealthy upper class quickly caught onto the potential of industry and we were one of the first countries to industrialize.
Then, world war one hit and devastated much of Europe. Recover began and world war two hit and fucked over Europe again.
The US then benefitted from selling Europe replacements for all the stuff that got destroyed, and has had a heavy diplomatic hand in Europe’s puppethole since.
The landmass of the Euro area with no empire rivals, only ex-rivals and current allies.
Europe suffers WW1+WW2 invasions and bombing in their homes, US is a safe zone and collects (cherry picks) refugees with no loss in infrastructure or production. This increases military strength, worth, prestige, productivity, and more attention from immigrants.
This has recursive self-expanding rewards.
The US was a largely agrarian society up until the world wars which it was largely protected from either side by the atlantic and pacific oceans. There was no industry left the former world powers after the WWII. They had all been destroyed by the war; the US developed a thriving industrial base during the war. The US essentially bribed every nation to let the it write their security policy (don’t be friends with the Soviet Union) and they could have access to US markets
Power in what? Military? The economic market? I feel like you might be in the “my daddy is stronger than yours” mindset here. lol
In this particular case WW2 was a massive input, particularly in how it weakened the British empire both economically and politically. In WW1 the British empire was strongest but it began a decline after WW2, the fall of one empire and rise of another has effects like the change of reserve currency and more all which contributed. Of course America is also huge and geographically secure.
Economically and manufacturing are supported by the largest chunk of arable land and a massive internal shipping network due to the Mississippi river and her tributaries and feeds. So transport is super cheap and food is abundant. Also they can’t be attacked by land.
As for their place in the world, WW2 is key. At the end of the war the US was in the best position globally. Minimal loss of life and massive non ruined industrial base and infrastructure. No one was ready for anything in anyway compared to the US. Massive loss of life and infrastructure as well as manufacturing base left Europe, north Africa and the pacific without the ability to do much but rebuild.
Further to cement this power, rather than conquer like almost any other power would have done in this position the US simply said hey, can we write your security policy? If you let us we’ll give you access to the whole world for trade and stuff. Oh and the security policy is be against the soviet union and communism, easy right?
And thus our reality as we know it for the last 70 years was born.
I guess it might have to do that, other than the Civil War, the US never really had a war devastating their own soil.
Not something we can say about Europe.
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