ABSTRACT
At the beginning of the third millennium of the Christian era, the United States of America reached the summit of its powers. Friend and foe alike concede that the American people have now achieved, for good or evil, unchallengeable ascendancy over the rest of the world in war, commerce, science, technology and many branches of culture. The global hegemony of the American Republic makes it the natural heir to the prestige of the Roman Imperium and the British Empire. That all this has been achieved in just two and a quarter centuries of independent national existence makes this American enterprise one of the epic tales of human history.
