The Development of America as a Super Power

American History is characterized by a long trail of interesting events and occurrences of all spectrum. Before the arrival of the European colonists from England in early 1600, indigenous people lived in the United States (Trinkle & Merriman, 2007). The Spanish constructed small settlements in Florida and the Southwest while the French built along the Mississippi River and the Gulf Coast. In the 1760s when the French and Indian Wars ended, the British government levied taxes which were harshly criticized and resisted by the Boston Tea Party (1773).

Consequently, the punitive laws adopted by Parliament aimed at terminating self-government in Massachusetts. The American Patriots complied with the political ideology called republicanism which emphasized in cc duty, virtue, and opposition to corruption, fancy luxuries as well as an aristocracy (Brinkley, 2015).

1700-1799

During the period 1775-1783, the industrial revolution made its way in the United States and changed the face of the economy as the manufacture of products began. Thirteen colonies remained independent from Great Britain while the inception of armed conflict in 1775 saw the ousting of royal officials out of every colony.

In 1776, the second continental congress announced the inauguration of a new, independent nation, the United States of America, while the large-scale military and financial support from France and the military leadership of General George Washington, and gave victory to the American Patriots who won the Revolutionary War (Turner & Bogue, 2010). The Congress (convection) drafted a constitution in 1787 and later adopted in it 1789 during the installation of George Washington as the first president of the United States.

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President Washington appointed Alexander Hamilton as a senior government adviser.

1800-1899

The American civil war which took approximately four years divided the nation into the northern states vs. the southern states (Baynton, 2013). In 1803 when Thomas Jefferson became president, he bought 530 million acres of Louisiana Territory from France. Over the years, the US population grew rapidly reaching 7.2 million in 1810 before the second and final war with Britain in 1812 killed many (National Museum of African American History and Culture (U.S.), 2016). Economic growth also increased immensely despite the United States military strength remaining relatively weak. Slavery became a controversial issue of concern as political and constitutional battles sprung up.

While slavery was abolished in the north, it was actively practiced in the South (Bankston, 2006). In 1860 when presidential elections were held, Republican Abraham Lincoln won the elections and he sought to abolish slavery indefinitely. During the period 1861-1865, the American Civil War ideas were naive thereby extended to the reconstruction era (1863 -1877) when legal and voting rights were extended to the freed slaves. The white Democrats regained power in the South during the 1870s and passed Jim Crow laws that maintained white supremacy.

1900-1999

The United States entered World War I and declared war on Germany while women were granted the right to vote in 1920. What followed next was one of the worst national economic criscrisest shook the stock market resulting in the Great Depression in Arding to McCusker & Menard, (2014), the Wall Street crashed, and Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt ended the Republican dominance of the White House. He implemented his New Deal programs for relief, recovery, and reform. The new deal benefited the unemployed, farmers, social security as well as minimum wage. In 1939, the d War II involving Germany and Poland erupted but the United States entered the war on December 7, 1941, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor (Kellogg, 2010). After the dropping of an atomic bomb launched by the United States in Japan nese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, World War II was halted. Ideally, this gave rise to the emergence of the Soviet Union. The African-American civil rights movements, especially in the Southern States, resurfaced in 1954-1968 and popular among them all was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He advocated for the abolishment raciof al segregation and discrimination and in 1964, 1965, and, 1968, the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, and the 1968 Fair housing act respectively, were enacted. A war that lasted for about 20 years erupted in Vietnam, and the h Vietnam won the war before finally unifying Vietnam as a country. According to Trinkle & Merriman, (2007), the cold war ended in 1991 when the Soviet Union was officially dissolved. Ideally, this left the United States as the world’s only superpower. Since then, the United States took an interest in solving international conflicts, especially in the Middle East.

2000-Present

The United States ushered in the 21st century on a rather sad note especially on September 11, 2001, when it was attacked by Al-Qaeda (McCusker & Menard, 2014).

Essentially, this opened new feuds between the United States and Afghanistan, and until today, the war is still ongoing. The United States invaded and occupied Iraq, and the war lasted eight years before it was officially declared over on December 18, 2011 (Baynton, 2013). During the wake of the 2008 economic crisis, Barack Obama was elected as the first African American President of the United States. A significant milestone in the fight against terrorism was achieved on May 2, 2011, when al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed (Kellogg, 2010). Till today, the United States is still a Super Power even as it continues to lead other nations in industrial development, technology, politics, health as well as military strength.

References

1. Bankston, C. L. (2006). African American history. Pasadena, Calif: Salem Press.
2. Baynton, D. C. (2013). Disability and the justification of inequality in American history. The disability studies reader, 17, 33-57.
3. Brinkley, A. (2015). The Unfinished Nation: A Concise History of the American People, 1(11), p. 7271. McGraw-Hill.
4. Kellogg, W. O. (2010). Barron’s E-Z American history. Hauppauge, NY: Barron’s Educational Series.
5. McCusker, J. J., & Menard, R. R. (2014). The Economy of British America, 1607-1789. UNC Press Books.
6. National Museum of African American History and Culture (U.S.). (2016). The National Museum of African American History & Culture: A souvenir book.
7. Trinkle, D. A., & Merriman, S. A. (2007). The American history highway: A guide to Internet resources on U.S., Canadian, and Latin American history. Armonk, N.Y: M.E. Sharpe.
8. Turner, F. J., & Bogue, A. G. (2010). The frontier in American history. Courier Corporation.