The "American Miracle" is one of the most astounding tales in all of human history.
It all began with the founding of the United States of America. At the turn of the 19th Century, our country was just a few years old. Its GDP was a paltry $11.75 billion, making it by all measures the poorest nation on planet Earth.
At just 0.73% of Global GDP, The USA in 1800 AD was widely considered to be a backwater of civilization, with nothing of note to offer those traveling to its shores. And most of the world expected it to remain that way in perpetuity.
A century later though, the tale had not only changed, but radically so. In 1900 AD, the United States had gone from the middle of nowhere to being the wealthiest nation not simply on planet Earth, but in all of human history.
Our GDP by that time had grown almost 60-fold, to $677.47 billion. Not even the mighty British Empire, which ruled over a full quarter of the world's landmass, could compare to America's newly found splendor.
We did not look back either. Another century later, and the United States' economy had grown by a further 20-fold, to $13.754 trillion, making it a full third of total Global GDP. By that point, our detractors had long since stopped mocking our abilities as a society.
But the question still remains: How was the United States of America able to accomplish this remarkable feat? In just two brief centuries, we had completely outstripped the field, and left the entire rest of humanity in the dust.
Was it a testimony to capitalism? Or perhaps democracy? Was it something cultural? Or socioeconomic? The questions one can ask are endless.
All I can truthfully conclude is that the meteoric rise of America clearly proves that nearly anything is possible under the Sun. Given proper vision and dedication, human beings can accomplish anything we put our minds to. And that lesson is truly a blessing to our world.
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