“USA: How Did a Colony Become a Superpower?”

“USA: How Did a Colony Become a Superpower?”

The second lecture in the Five Stories of Wealth series

Just 250 years ago, the United States did not exist. Today, the U.S. economy remains the largest in the world. How did a former colony manage to make this extraordinary journey?

In the second lecture of Pavel Usanov’s course, we will trace the economic history of the United States from its founding to the present day. We will explore the periods when America prospered, the factors that drove its economic growth, and the decisions that, on the contrary, became obstacles to that growth.

We will discuss the role of entrepreneurs such as Henry Ford, J. P. Morgan, and John D. Rockefeller, as well as political leaders including Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and Ronald Reagan. We will examine why some of the world’s largest corporations emerged in the United States and how entrepreneurship, technological innovation, migration, political institutions, and economic policy transformed the country.

Finally, we will consider what could threaten America’s economic leadership today.

The following lectures will focus on the economic histories of the European Union, India, and Russia.

Upcoming Lectures

29/09 — United Kingdom
How a Small Island Invented the Industrial Revolution

09/10 — USA
How a Colony Became a Superpower

16/10 — European Union
From the Birthplace of Capitalism to an Economy of Bureaucrats

23/10 — India
A Billion People and a New Battle for Economic Leadership

30/10 — Russia
Why a Rich Country Never Became Wealthy