The US has always been a small percentage of the world population, so we forget how influential the US has been.
The shot at the Concord Bridge truly was “the shot heard round the world.” The US victory in the War of 1812 over the British Empire was similarly decisive. The US Civil War seemed at the time as if it could have meant the end of republican government.
The US made the difference in two world wars and a cold war in the 20th century. Today, the US leads the war on Islamic terror.
Many decades ago I read what was then considered the “best” biography of U.S. Grant.
I can’t recall the title or the author.
What stunned me and always stuck with me after reading that book was that, in the aftermath of the Civil War, U.S. Grant became the most admired celebrity in the world.
He was not a man who impressed me as having any exemplary skills - just a man with good common sense, a good work ethic, and above average leadership skills and perseverance.
After reading your post, his celebrity makes a lot more sense now.
Today, the US leads the war on Islamic terror.
Come again?
That's a very debatable proposition. Canadians consider it a Canadian victory. The British don't really think about it at all--it was a minor sideshow to the Napoleonic Wars. Most historians consider it a draw, since nothing really changed from before the war.
True. The "wind from America" was a major influence on the French Revolution and on Latin American independence movements.
The US victory in the War of 1812 over the British Empire was similarly decisive.
Maybe not so true. Did we actually win that war?
Even if the British won, they could hamper US plans, but weren't going to put us under the rule of King and Parliament again. That ship had sailed long before.
Whoever won the War of 1812, it was very important for Canadian history, but I'd say the British victory over Napoleon that happened in the same period was more significant in World history.
I surely must be missing something. Care to drop us a hint of how this could be?
The union victory in the civil war threw gasoline on the fire of republicanism throughout the world. The hoped for disintegration of the United States did not happen. World wide anti-royalist social movements exploded and Karl Marx was one of many to ride the wave of republicanism.