The United States of America is one of the largest countries in the world. It’s one of the biggest, if not the biggest, global superpowers in the world.

But how did all of this start? How did the U.S. get where they are today? How in only about 250 years did the United States become such a large power over the globe?

Social Studies teacher Melvin Labrum said, “Capitalism … accelerated the wealth during this industrialization.  The democratic constitution and capitalism gave freedom to individuals to invent new ideas without interference (interchangeable parts, assembly line, electricity, etc.) which quickly modernized our country.”

Labrum shares that there are many factors that go into making America how it is today. He speaks of how capitalism quickly became part of our country, and that makes a difference.

America was barely 200 years old when it became a power across the globe. As the economy grew, the U.S. became more powerful. In the 1890s, America’s economy produced twice as much as any other country, even the closest competitor, Britain. However, at this time, The United States was not a great diplomatic or military power.

In the 1920s, America became the largest economy in the world. This happened because of how quickly it moved into a credit based economy.

The 20s were the time when loans and credit businesses truly became a part of the American lifestyle. It expanded how Americans could spend, and continues to do so.

The American power quickly switched to being geared towards the military. President Roosevelt was particularly involved in this. He resolved to make the U.S. stronger and less likely to be attacked. America started to participate in wars that were not theirs, to begin with.

To this day, America is the biggest militaristic power in the world.

As other countries try to compete, the U.S. starts to be less powerful. Countries such as Russia, China, India, and Brazil work hard to catch up to America. The U.S. is getting into more and more debt, while these countries industrialize and get stronger.

These countries do this by expanding their industrialization. They continue to produce more resources and use them to their own benefit.

However, many people believe that The U.S. will continue to be the strongest country in the world for more time that China, Russia, or any other country would freely admit.

Problems that other countries are facing as they try to develop themselves further is population.

China has limited its people to only have one child for the sake of not growing too large.

“From a theoretical point of view, the long-term population decline, especially when it is accompanied by a continuously aging population, is bound to cause very unfavorable social and economic consequences,” the China Academy of Social Sciences (CASS).

The Russians are facing the problem of their people moving away. India’s population continues to grow rapidly. They have the second largest population in the world, and not enough resources to support all that brings. Brazil is in a similar situation, with not enough resources to support its population.

One of the key reasons that America has stayed ahead of other countries is the sole fact that the founding fathers created a manufacturing-based economy instead of an agricultural one.

There were many steps to making the United States a global superpower, and there are still many being taken now.