The United States as a World Power

The United States as a World Power

English Composition

11 June 2014

Abstract

As far back as most of us can actually remember, the United States has been a leader. From the race to put a man on the moon to leading the way for the world financially we have always prided ourselves on being the very first to do things. But, as Peter Parker’s uncle told him, “With great power comes great responsibility.” Stan Lee could not have known how right he was when he first inked those words onto the pages of The Amazing Spider-Man. Since it’s birth America has not only worried about it’s own interests, but we have also engaged in helping other countries whether they were out allies or not. This has lead many throughout our nation and other nations to label us as the “policemen of the world”. In this paper I will attempt to examine two incidents that lead to that label and how those incidents propelled us as a nation higher in to the status of world power.

In April of 1865 General Lee surrendered to General Grant at the Appomattox Court House ending the bloody Civil War. In the years that followed, during reconstruction and beyond, the United States began to play a greater role internationally. We became involved in conflicts, trade agreements, more conflicts, international diplomacy, and still more conflict. The road to being a world power has been paved with many brave American men and women who have given their lives. From the moment of Lee’s surrender to Grant to ISIS taking control of cities in Iraq, the United States was, and will continue to be, a police force for the world in the eyes of many.

The Start of a Superpower

The surrender of Lee in 1865 not only brought an end to one of the bloodiest conflicts in American history it also brought about reconstruction. Reconstruction lead us into the Industrial Revolution and into the financial system we have today and also served to shape us into the superpower we have become. In the 31 years following the...