How the USA Became a World Leader - Assignment Example

Tracing back the history of how the country attained its current status as a world leader and the defender of democracy, it is interesting to take a look back at its past. To take a deeper examination of the motivations for which it was able to conquer all the other superpowers and take its place in history as a pillar of civilization. To begin with, there is the reality of Puritans and the motives of imperialists in the perpetuation of the pre-conceived notion of the superiority of the Anglo-Saxon race.

The victory of the dubious Spanish-American War, starting with the propaganda proliferated that the Cuban revolutionaries are very much like the Americans with their “Anglo-Saxon tenacity of purpose” that resulted in both parties’ disillusionment. The Treaty of Paris ended with the U.S. acquisition of the Philippines (p.567-570).             The chapter also traces the many great traits of the Americans which concurrently make the nation great.

Men like President Theodore Roosevelt compelled the people to achieve greatness. The construction of the Panama Canal under his administration was the American realization of what the French have failed to do, a connection to Central America. As a leader, he was able to shape the country into a force to be reckoned with internationally in terms of political and economic prowess (p.574). And of course, who could deny the country’s ascension as a cultural trendsetter through the emergence of cinema which also epitomizes the country’s history.

All of which and many more follow the track of how the United States came to be what and where it is today.