20th Century Power

The United States earned its title as a super power from the powerful performance in the 20th century. Everyone in the world was growing and advancing and all of the decisions America made allowed for America to maintain a certain level of power still held tightly today. Power comes in many forms but for a country it comes in the form of economics, politics, the military, and technology. These four pillars of America has kept it standing strong and able to help and defend others who may not have the abilities to protect themselves.
The United States was able to dominate the 20th century economically due to the flourishing industrial revolution. The industrial revolution was an influential movement from making products at home to making them …show more content…
Under Theodor Roosevelt’s presidency the Hepburn Act came into play in 1906. This set the railroad rates and called for the review of the finances from the railroad companies. The Hepburn Act showed how much regulation that the government can enforce in the business, and eventually led into the confidence to regulate overseas. The political moves made by the United States government and government leaders were about bettering the country. Similarly like the progressive movement which was mainly about improving their lives. The progressive movement was about reform for the workers from the industrialization period. The spirit of progressivism was a “response to industrialization and its social byproducts: immigration, urban growth, growing corporate power, and widening class divisions” (659). The muckrakers were a catalyst in aiding the movement moving faster by making the problems public. The progressive reform led to many domestic changes for women and workers in the United States. The progressive reform allowed labor unions to form, better wages and working conditions. The progressive reform also got birth control for women and more rights for women as they become more independent. And it also brought about reforms of the government. Labor unions allowed for the workers to fight for what they wanted versus having a strike, walk outs, or violent …show more content…
The military goes out and fights numerous battles they are told to help keep their country on top or to fight for what is right. Like the Cold war for example. The Cold War was an indirect fight between the United States and the Soviet Union about weather communism should take over or not. The two super powers never actually met for combat, but fought through other countries. Like the Vietnam War. It was about Communist North Vietnam trying to take over the south And after all the help that the United states rendered North Vietnam won. Communism versus anti-communism had another match up starring the United States and the Soviet Union in the Korean War. It was communist North Korea versus anti-communist South Korea with the United States backing the anti-communist movement. The Marshall Plan was created to help fight the “’ hunger, poverty, desperation’ that spawned communism” (835). Communism was a headache because it would offset a host of other problems creating a domino effect. Communism was imperialism by converting the government to something so negative. And the United States demonstrated its side of imperialism by fighting for anti communism. Capitalism and Communism both have their strengths and weaknesses. During the Korean War the “American atomic stockpile mushroomed from 150 to 750 nuclear warheads” (841). The best war