When did the USA become the world's number one superpower?

[buritobr]

A country may be a superpower in the following issues:
Economic: biggest GDP
Financial: most important currency, most important financial center
Military: most powerful armed forces
Scientific: best scientists, best universities
Technological: biggest number of important invention
Cultural: most known artists, biggest influence on international habits

Today, there is no doubt that the USA is the number one financial, military, scientific, technological and cultural superpower. In 2014, Chinese GDP became bigger than American GDP. But the dollar is still much more important than the yuan. American economy still has the most important leadership role. Small countries like Norway, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Monaco and Qatar have GDP per capita bigger than the USA. Because they have very little capita and not because they have very big GDP.

In 1913, American GDP was already bigger than British GDP. But British GDP per capita was still higher. During the Gold Standard Era, the most important international currency was the pound. London was the world's most important financial center. The US Army was not the world's most powerful. When the USA entered in the WWI, the French and the British proposed that the US Army join the French or British forces.
But the USA had already the most advanced industry. It was the first country to have an automobile assembly line.

In 1919, the USA had already the biggest GDP per capita. But no financial hegemony yet. In the interwar period, dollar and pound were equally important. New York and London were equally important financial centers.
Before the WWII, most of the Nobel Prize winners were still European. Latin American / Asian elites were still more influenced by European culture than by American culture.

After the WWII, the USA became the world's number one superpower in almost every issues. The USSR had the most powerful ground forces. The USSR has also sent the first satelite to the space. However, other than these exceptions, I think we can say that the USA is the world's biggest superpower since 1945.

When the UK was the world's number one superpower, French was the number one international language. Bizarre. Only when the USA became the biggest superpower, English became the most important language.

[OSR stands with Israel]

Number one Super Power Since the 1700s

1700-1763- French
1763- 1799- British
1799- 1812- French
1812- 1871- British
1871-1915- German
1915-1937- British
1937- 1942- German
1942- 1944- None
1944- 1967- USA
1967- 1984- Soviet
1984- Present- USA

[Blue3]

1941-present, although the Soviets might have barely edged us out during the brief age of Sputnik.

[dead0man]

It was arguably close for the first half of the 20th century (between the US,UK and Germany), but clearly by sometime early in WWII the US took the lead.  The Soviets may have been slightly ahead of us in space for a short time, and certainly competitive in the arms race, but we were always ahead of them in most other aspects of "power".

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

In terms of the economy, China was number one for eons until probably the mid 18th century. Britain was number one until ~1880 or so when the USA and Germany surpassed them. The US economy has generally been the largest since the late 19th century. However, it kept its military tiny so Britain and Germany were the dominant powers until the end of World War I. The US has been the dominant superpower since 1942. It supplied and funded the other allies against Germany and Japan and by 1945 clearly was the all around super power having been unscathed by war. The Soviets were never really matched us save for specific contests like space or whatnot, but overall it was quite clear the US was superior.

[ingemann]

When the Berlin Wall fell, of course USA was already stronger than USSR before, but it was only with the fall of the Berlin Wall, everybody including USA became aware of this fact, and in being a super power perspective is a important part of your dominance. For all we know China could be able to defeat USA tomorrow but as long as USA and China both think USA would win such a war, USA would still be the strongest power.

[OSR stands with Israel]

In terms of the economy, China was number one for eons until probably the mid 18th century. Britain was number one until ~1880 or so when the USA and Germany surpassed them. The US economy has generally been the largest since the late 19th century. However, it kept its military tiny so Britain and Germany were the dominant powers until the end of World War I. The US has been the dominant superpower since 1942. It supplied and funded the other allies against Germany and Japan and by 1945 clearly was the all around super power having been unscathed by war. The Soviets were never really matched us save for specific contests like space or whatnot, but overall it was quite clear the US was superior.

Soviets were stronger then the US during the 2nd half of LBJ term , Nixon, Ford, Carter, and then Reagan brought the US back to number 1

[Col. Roosevelt]

In terms of the economy, China was number one for eons until probably the mid 18th century. Britain was number one until ~1880 or so when the USA and Germany surpassed them. The US economy has generally been the largest since the late 19th century. However, it kept its military tiny so Britain and Germany were the dominant powers until the end of World War I. The US has been the dominant superpower since 1942. It supplied and funded the other allies against Germany and Japan and by 1945 clearly was the all around super power having been unscathed by war. The Soviets were never really matched us save for specific contests like space or whatnot, but overall it was quite clear the US was superior.

Soviets were stronger then the US during the 2nd half of LBJ term , Nixon, Ford, Carter, and then Reagan brought the US back to number 1

I think three Soviet leaders dying shortly after assuming power between 1981 and 1984 had more to do wit it than Reagan.

[Mehmentum]

According to wikipedia, the Roman empire, the Han dynasty of China, and the Mauryan Empire of India (who are roughly contemporary to each other) all had about the same population (between 50 and 60 million.)  Its probably safe to assume they had similar GDPs as well.

After Rome split apart, it looks like China rules the day for centuries.  India is completely fragmented for most of this time and none of the middle eastern or European empires come close to their Chinese equivalents.  Even the Caliphate at its peak is a perhaps half of Tang China's population at the time.

Its not clear exactly when China lost its lead, but it became obvious with their humiliating defeat in the 1st Opium War in 1840.

[The Mikado]

Having the USSR ahead of the US at any point is absurd. The US dwarfed the Soviets in global diplomatic reach (especially after China left the Soviet orbit in the early 1960s), GDP and GDP per capita (by a gigantic margin), military prowess (the humiliation of Vietnam notwithstanding), and any other metric you care to trot out. The Soviet economy, while admittedly relatively strong in the 1950s, was teetering by the 1970s and completely dependent on oil export, which doomed it after 1985 when the oil shock ended and the price of oil went down by two thirds. The Soviets, over the post-war era, went from an agricultural powerhouse to a major food importer (from the US), from an industrial powerhouse to the world's largest Rust Belt of outdated and useless machinery, and from a military giant to a paper tiger whose military openly supported the collapse of the government.

[DavidB.]

Small countries like Norway, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Monaco and Qatar have GDP per capita bigger than the USA. Because they have very little capita and not because they have very big GDP.

Wtf? Gotta love that stereotypical ignorance about Europe That post is so bad it almost hurts my eyes. Switzerland is a country of 8 million inhabitants, Norway of 5 million. Not comparable to Monaco and Qatar at all, and Switzerland and Norway countries are not rich because "they have very little capita".

[Blue3]

To be fair, if you're under 10 million, you're a rather small country.

[DavidB.]

To be fair, if you're under 10 million, you're a rather small country.

Sure, but Switzerland and Norway are not rich because they "have very little capita" (something I could understand if one would say it about Monaco), and there is still an enormous difference between Monaco/Qatar and Switzerland/Norway, both in terms of population and in terms of economy.

[Storebought]

From a practical perspective, immediately after WWI, but US pacifism and isolationism muted that fact.

[buritobr]

I know that Norway, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Monaco and Qatar are not equal. Norway and Switzerland are not city states like Monaco. Norway has a huge land area. But Norway and Switzerland have populations lower than the populations of Tokyo, Shangai, New York City, Mexico City.
So, even having GDP per capita greater than the GDP per capita from the USA,  Norway, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Monaco and Qatar cannot be considered superpowers. This is my argument.

[politicus]

To be fair, if you're under 10 million, you're a rather small country.

Depends how you count. There are currently about 200 countries in the world and only 87 have more than 10 mio. inhabitants. So 10 mio. is above the median.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

In terms of the economy, China was number one for eons until probably the mid 18th century. Britain was number one until ~1880 or so when the USA and Germany surpassed them. The US economy has generally been the largest since the late 19th century. However, it kept its military tiny so Britain and Germany were the dominant powers until the end of World War I. The US has been the dominant superpower since 1942. It supplied and funded the other allies against Germany and Japan and by 1945 clearly was the all around super power having been unscathed by war. The Soviets were never really matched us save for specific contests like space or whatnot, but overall it was quite clear the US was superior.

Soviets were stronger then the US during the 2nd half of LBJ term , Nixon, Ford, Carter, and then Reagan brought the US back to number 1

I think three Soviet leaders dying shortly after assuming power between 1981 and 1984 had more to do wit it than Reagan.

Peception is not reality, though it can drive it and lead to decisions being made off of it. The USSR were not stronger than the US. Nothing about Vietnam was going to reduce us so as to make that a reality. Economy is the biggest factor and at no point was the USSR's economy anywhere close to competing in our league.

What Reagan did was force them to show their hand economically just as it was going from bad to worse with his military buildup. We could sustain that because were stronger economically, the USSR could not because its economy was fundamentally weak.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

The term hails from the mid 1940s. Before then people used to just refer to 'powers'. You can surely work out the implications of this yourselves.

[/]

January 20, 2009

loljk

[Murica!]

1987-1988.

[The Mikado]

So many of you seem to have little perspective on the USSR's actual massive weaknesses. There was no time 1945-1991 that one could say that the USSR outstripped the USA as the world's foremost power. Even in the Khrushchev Era at the relative height of Soviet power the propaganda line was that they'd catch up with the USA's GDP in 15 years, and that was always a pie in the sky fantasy. By the 1970s, the much-vaunted and praised Soviet industrial sector was a vast Rust Belt of make-work jobs in outmoded factories producing unneeded heavy industrial goods, the Russian agricultural sector that had once been gigantic was so inadequate that the Soviets imported vast quantities of food, and the Soviet economy was reliant on oil exports, a leg that collapsed under it after 1985 when the price of oil lost 2/3rds of its value. (Overreliance on oil is a lesson Putin is learning again 30 years later)

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

1800-1850 French
1850-1920 British Queen Victoria era Navel Era
1920-1945 German Facism Tank Era
1945-1961 USSR Stalinism Airplane Era
1961-present America, US successful standoff over Cuban missle crisis averted the nuke war and made it supreme Atom Bomb era

[buritobr]

During the hiperinflation crisis of the Weimar Republic, Germany could not be considered a superpower. Besides, Germany could not have navy, air force and more than 100k man in the army in this period.
Even the Third Reich could never be considered the world number one superpower. In 1938, the GDP per capita from Germany was 75% of the GDP per capita from the USA. And considering that Germany had 70 million inhabitants and the USA had 130 million inhabitants, the difference of the total GDP was even bigger. The GPD per capita from the UK was 90% of the GDP per capita from the USA.

[Yank2133]

So many of you seem to have little perspective on the USSR's actual massive weaknesses. There was no time 1945-1991 that one could say that the USSR outstripped the USA as the world's foremost power. Even in the Khrushchev Era at the relative height of Soviet power the propaganda line was that they'd catch up with the USA's GDP in 15 years, and that was always a pie in the sky fantasy. By the 1970s, the much-vaunted and praised Soviet industrial sector was a vast Rust Belt of make-work jobs in outmoded factories producing unneeded heavy industrial goods, the Russian agricultural sector that had once been gigantic was so inadequate that the Soviets imported vast quantities of food, and the Soviet economy was reliant on oil exports, a leg that collapsed under it after 1985 when the price of oil lost 2/3rds of its value. (Overreliance on oil is a lesson Putin is learning again 30 years later)

This.

Even at the height of Soviet power(1950s to early 60s), the US was far and away stronger economically and militarily.

[ScottieF]

1945 (normal, sane)