The 20th Century was rightly known as the American Century as it became the industrial powerhouse of the world. However, it was not until World War 2 that it became the absolutely dominant political force. It emerged from the war with its economy booming, and its industry and cities unaffected by aerial bombardment — let alone it being an actual battleground. In 1945 it became the leader of the free world.
This was in great contrast to the years preceding WW2. The United States strenuously avoided becoming involved in World War 1, which was essentially a European war, but eventually was dragged into it. Upon its conclusion, the nations of Europe sought to develop a mechanism to avoid a repetition by establishing the League of Nations. US President Woodrow Wilson, a Democrat, strove to have the US join, campaigning so relentlessly that he suffered a stroke, from which he never recovered.
Republicans were in the ascendancy and Congress rejected joining. Wilson’s presidency ended in 1921, replaced by the first of three failed presidents: Harding, followed by Coolidge and Hoover. They were isolationists in foreign policy and trade. By October 1929 the uncontrolled investment economy ended with the Wall Street Crash, heralding the onset of the catastrophic global slump. This Great Depression was severely aggravated by America and other nations, Britain and her Dominions included, withdrawing behind tariff barriers, thus restricting trade even further.
It took the leadership of Franklin Roosevelt, sworn into the White House in 1933, the rest of the decade to rebuild the economy. But his efforts to use American power to aid back-to-the-wall Britain in 1940/41 were frustrated by the Republican-driven isolationist movement, led by the brilliant aviator but Nazi admirer Charles Lindberg. Japan’s assault on Pearl Harbour was the ultimate game changer. America became a committed combatant overnight.
In contrast with the 1920 rejection of joining the League of Nations, with victory in 1945 America led the way in the formation of the United Nations. But this did not frustrate the imperialism of Stalin’s Soviet Union. Contrary to the Yalta Agreement of 1945, the Soviet army stood fast in the eastern European countries it had liberated from Nazi occupation, installing Moscow puppet governments. This unnerved western Europe, leading to the Nato pact which, with the US as its sheet anchor, has given Europe the longest period of peace in its history, broken by Russia’s invasion of non-Nato member Ukraine in 2022.
Would the inward-looking United States of the inter-war years be repeated with the election of Donald Trump? Trump has shown indifference to the UN, and claims that Nato has outlived its usefulness and signalled his intention to withdraw from it. Putin would be overjoyed.
Further, he intends to bring tariff protection to American industry. This would surely frustrate world trade. Today, trade is the driver of prosperity as never before, and changed fortunes in impoverished countries — China being just one of many examples.
But there is another concern of a Trump presidency, and it is a moral one. America is no paragon of virtue — we know this because it is open about its failings, as well as endlessly proclaiming its greatness. So how will its moral global leadership look with a president who, as one commentator put it, “has violated 11 of the Ten Commandments”?
At this stage we can have no idea of this election’s outcome, but, while the US economy is doing well under the current administration, President Biden is not a man of ebullient character, and his advanced age justifiably concerns. But he has returned decency to the White House, which would be lost with the re-election of Trump — a skilled but intellectually impoverished demagogue. The social and political issues at stake are of global concern.
