Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Well at one point in the distant past we had markets which were far freer than today (certainly never a real free market mind you), then of course the industrial revolution and looting the poor countries for resources. Then our currency became the international standard allowing us to steal indirectly from those who's currency was tied to ours as we built up our debt and our counterfeiting increased. The party is basically up though...all smoke and mirrors propped up with magic green toilet paper now, no need to revisit what will never ever return...we are swirling along the sides of the toilet bowl and headed for the drain without any hope of escaping the inevitable.
Initially it was natural resources and to some degree I guess that is still important but then innovation and industrialization really pushed America ahead during the industrial revolution. America and Britain have always been good with business and banking as well. Plus having WWI and II on another continent didn't hurt.
After the first world war, all of our competition was in ruins and dependent on the one world power (us, and up until that point, we weren't terribly notable in regards to overall influence) that hadn't been screwed by the war to aid in rebuilding Europe. We sold them stuff, basically. Our industry exploded while the others had to recover. However, this led to some instability and the great depression happened. But lucky us, a second world war happened with more or less the same results as the first. We came out on top.
essentially because we had to in order to survive as a country. for instance, congress created our navy to keep the sea lanes open and free. in order to do that we needed a strong navy, which required a strong marine corps to protect the ships and crews.
eventually we pushed out into the world at large to expand our reach around the world, so we set up coaling stations, around the globe. when world war one rolled around, and wilson got us into that war, we realized that we needed to build a strong military, though we tried to disband much of it after the war. when world war two rolled around,we realized again that we needed strong military, and once the war was over, we realized that we could no longer pull back into our borders, so we built the military complex you see today.
The division of powers and rights in the US Constitution allowed enterprise and creativity to advance beyond anywhere else. The Common Law gave the stability and certainty needed.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
