How has the U.S Made an Impact on History?

                It is the U.S’s aspirations to be a leadership society that propels the country to achieve great things. Throughout history, the U.S has adapted new ideas, and has used their resources to their advantages, being the most technologically powerful nation in the world. Technology is one of the resources that make a country move forward. The U.S has used their knowledge to achieve things that grabbed the rest of the world’s attention, and making an impact in history.

                The Americas in the 15^th and 16^th centuries was a land of opportunity for those coming in from European countries in search for fortune, discoveries, resources, or fleeing from religious persecution. Many immigrants settled in North America, finding that the bountiful lands were suitable for agriculture, survival, and the ability to trade. By the 1700’s, autocratic rule from Great Britain started creating tension with the colonists to the point that a revolution was sparked – starting with the colonists demanding independence from Britain. The birth of the U.S was significant because of the new ideals of democratic principles was essential. The U.S Constitution was by The People for The People, starting the path for the U.S to hold dear the concept of democracy, which other countries do not. This country did go through difficulties, especially with the fundamental question of what to do with slavery. The bloody Civil War had to be fought between the North and the South to determine the direction the U.S would have to take with slavery, but in the end, the North won and slavery was ended, which was the right thing to have happened to make the U.S a truly democratic country. 

                Then, the industrial age happened. A lot of inventors blossomed in the United States, making their marks in history, such as Thomas Edison, inventor of the light bulb, and Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone and combustion engines spawned entire industries known to Americans, such as Henry Ford, who were able to mass produce mechanical vehicles that transported things across the United States.  Modern industrialists also made their mark, taking advantage of modern inventions.. The U.S used modern ideals to make an impact in history by using technology. During the advent of World War I, the U.S made strides in technological development, especially in military hardware. Airplanes, such as those invented by the Wright Brothers, assumed great importance in battle. After WWI, the economy was good, but the excesses in business caused greed and manipulation of the free markets. This led to the Great Depression in 1929, due to the crash in the stock markets. The entire U.S was affected, putting many people in poverty. It took good leadership from President D.  Roosevelt to put in place “The New Deal Plan,” and regulations that slowly got the country out of this economic downturn.  By the start of World War II, the military complex in the U.S was in the position to create arms for their allies in Britain to fight Nazi Germany.  Developments in warfare were made in areas such as weaponry, industrial production, medicine, and communications and intelligence. It was all this advanced technology that helped the U.S. win WWII. When the U.S entered WWII, its military capabilities would be tested on the early onset of war. Through successful strategy and industrial advantage, the United States, with her allies, turned the tide against the Axis powers and was able to defeat them, thus winning the war. One of the advances the U.S made during WWII was nuclear weaponry – unfortunately, the impact the U.S made in history with this is that she is the only country to have deployed nuclear weapons against another country.

                After WWII, the Soviet Union and the United States were challenging each other on outer space exploration. It was a race between the USA and the USSR.   Determined to show Russia what America was capable of doing in the field of space exploration, President Kennedy issued a challenge that the U.S would send a man to the moon and be back safely before the end of the decade in 1961. In just 60 plus years, astronaut Neil Armstrong was the first human to be able to fly in an aircraft and walk on the moon. The United States’ aspiration to literally reach for the stars made the U.S an accomplished, technologically advanced country.  Her actions and democratic ideals in the past is what makes the U.S the country it is today.