The Geopolitics of the United States, Part 2: American Identity and the Threats of Tomorrow

The physical geography of the United States has also impacted the country's human geography.

by George Friedman
July 6, 2016

We have already discussed in the first part of this analysis how the American geography dooms whoever controls the territory to being a global power, but there are a number of other outcomes that shape what that power will be like. The first and most critical is the impact of that geography on the American mindset.

The formative period of the American experience began with the opening of the Ohio River Valley by the National Road. For the next century Americans moved from the coastal states inland, finding more and better lands linked together with more and better rivers. Rains were reliable. Soil quality was reliable. Rivers were reliable. Success and wealth were assured. The trickle of settlers became a flood, and yet there was still more than enough well-watered, naturally connected lands for all.

The Geopolitics of the United States, Part 1: The Inevitable Empire

And this happened in isolation. With the notable exception of the War of 1812, the United States did not face any significant foreign incursions in the 19th ce…