Twenty-Century America Research Paper

Fifty-eight percent of all Americans believe that the United States is among the greatest countries in the world, and another twenty-eight percent view the United States as being above all other countries. If such a staggeringly high amount of its people believe that the U.S. is so extraordinary, must it be true? The United States is in many ways a profoundly unique country, but it is not always unique in exceptional ways, for those who look to it for guidance do not always prevail, and others need not look to the United States for guidance, for they have improved upon that which the U.S. has not. While there are exceptional aspects to the nation, there are a plethora of attributes that could be improved. American history, the founding of

The British colonies in America, what became the United States through revolution, were intended to be haimish, pleasant places founded on the ideas of virtuous republicanism, that every man would contribute and none would inherit high status or aristocracy. However, these places that once prided themselves on these ideas have become stuffy and pompous. Even when founded, they had encroached upon territory already inhabited by Native Americans. Furthermore, the enslavement of African peoples in the colonies and the continued servitude of generations of them until the mid-nineteenth century is contrary to the values upon which the United States were formed. As for the roots of the nation, although other nations such as France have had revolutions, none were so successful and long-standing as that of the United States. The French Revolution was plagued with internal contempt and lack of trust between those orchestrating it. Although the goal of it was to overthrow the French monarchy, there were soon after under the control of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, and later still Louis XVIII was crowned King of France, in effect restoring the monarchy that was. When the American Revolution was completed, the nation never fell under the control of Britain again; it was truly an independent nation. Nevertheless, the French Revolution was inspired by the American Revolution that preceded it. This makes the United States, in part, responsible for the destruction and chaos that came in the wake of the French Revolution. Even then, though the revolution in America was successful, it took many years and debates for the revolution to happen at all; the British colonists that came to be the men who founded the nation were not initially united in their stance against Britain and Parliament. In fact, many argued against revolution of