History of the United States - Research Paper Example

This meant that there would be a federal government—the president and Congress—but also state governments. Each would have various powers. The country that the Founding Fathers set in motion would soon dominate North America, sweeping across the continent from the Atlantic Ocean in the east, to the Pacific and the West, and eventually incorporating Alaska and Hawaii. It would contain the Grand Canyon and the Rocky Mountains, the Florida Everglades and the Smoky Mountains, the Redwood forests of California and the Great Lakes.

The climate and geography range dramatically across the country, as do the people who come from all around the world as immigrants. Over the last hundred years the population has grown dramatically as people from all the countries of the world sought out a better life on America's shores. The population is diverse and freedom-loving. One of the aspects of the United States that sets it apart from other countries is its fascinating political history. The first European settlers had to make accommodations with the Natives who had settled the land thousands of years ago.

Sometimes there was peace between these groups and sometimes there was war. In the end, the Natives were marginalized, and the Europeans began to dominate. They built cities and plantations and developed a vibrant economy and trade links. Soon enough the settlers had another foe, their British colonial masters, who were intent on taxing them without representation. The British became increasingly repressive and Americans began to feel their oats. This soon led to conflict and a declaration of independence.

The Revolutionary War went on for nearly a decade, but in the end America was free. In the period between independence and the Civil War of the 1860s, the United States expanded dramatically. During the brutal Civil War between North and South over the issue of slavery, industrialization occurred at a rapid pace (Kennedy, 125). Much of New England developed a manufacturing sector; and, following the war, many people moved north to take up factory jobs. These jobs were hard, but they paid more than work picking cotton.

This left the South short of resources for some time and increased resentment between the two main regions of the country. The 20th century saw more change as the World Wars forced the United States to look outwards at the world. These wars dramatically increased the size of the American economy and the sophistication of its technologies. The Depression showed how entwined the American economy was with the rest of the world's. It marked some of the darkest days in American history. The post-war history of America was perhaps the most dramatic, as America became a superpower and developed nuclear weapons and built military bases around the world.

The Cold War saw the United States face off against the Soviet Union and its communist allies, a face-off the U.S. won with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 (Cowley, 157). Since that time, the U.S. has been the only superpower in the world. America today has many challenges, among them terrorism and managing the rise of new powers such as China and India. Today, although facing financial problems, America is still a major power and a force for good in the world. It is a country whose people can be proud to be called its