How Did the United States Become a Global Power?
With the world’s largest economy, hundreds of overseas military bases, and leadership positions in various international institutions, the United States is an undeniable global power. The U.S. government is not transparent about the location of all of its overseas military bases, but this map shows bases with confirmed coordinates as of May 2020.But this was not always the case. For much of the country’s history, presidents shielded the nation from international affairs. The first U.S. president, George Washington, declared in his farewell address, “It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliance with any portion of the foreign world.” In particular, he feared the consequences of involving the United States in Europe’s great power conflicts. Instead, early American leaders focused on developing the young nation’s economy, expanding domestic territory, and getting Europe’s imperial powers to withdraw from the Western Hemisphere. In their worldview, the Atlantic and Pacific oc