The United States exploded on the international scene at the beginning of the Twentieth Century. As what was to become the first American Century, brash, young President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt became the face of the nation to the world. Roosevelt had first become world-famous before he became president for leading his widely publicized Rough Riders to victory on the San Juan Heights in Cuba during the Spanish-American War in 1898. That war ended over four centuries of Spanish rule.
Early in the Twentieth Century, the United States of America was accorded respect and trust earned by the leadership of President Theodore Roosevelt. From his example, future courageous presidents made the times that followed him the ‘First American Century’. Roosevelt’s international vision laid the groundwork for America’s naval strength. His respect as a peacemaker caused nations to trust America, but his ‘walk softly but carry a big stick’ slogan reminded those prone to aggression of America’s great strength.
On June 12, 1987, speaking to a crowd of Berliners, President Ronald Reagan (1981-1989) called on the Soviet Premier, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall”. Two years later, on December 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall came crashing down, ending the Cold War, the last remnant of World War II that had separated the East from the West. Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, who presided over these events, were the last of the Greatest Generation of World War II presidents.
The Twenty-First Century did not start so well! On September 11, 2001, New York City and Washington, D.C. were simultaneously attacked by Middle Eastern terrorists. They flew four hijacked American passenger airliners, slamming them into New York’s Twin Towers and the Pentagon, less than a year after President George W. Bush took office.
Twenty years later, on August 26, 2021, marked the nadir of American honor and prestige since our nation joined other major players on the world stage under President Theodore Roosevelt. On that day, thirteen American servicemembers were killed at the Afghanistan airport during that ignominious withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan after twenty years of unresolved conflict there. No retreat in America’s history has been so poorly planned or executed as in the chaos that reigned during that week of dramatic withdrawal in August of 2021 by the Biden Administration (2021-2025).
When Donald Trump returned to the presidency, replacing Joe Biden in 2025, a skeptical jury was out on whether America could recover and lead a Second American Century. For a repeat to happen, Trump and his successor presidents must recognize the new realities of the world as they exist, as opposed to an idealistic or notional idea of them that often guided their immediate predecessors.
The developed nations have taken on unsustainable sovereign debt at a time when their aging populations are declining, which, taken together, will result in slower economic growth. Past prosperity cannot be maintained when supporting an ever-aging population with fewer younger workers and high debt service interest demands. In many nations, global supply chains will become unreliable, military resources will be in short supply, and public unrest will increase.
Rapid technical change will make wars shorter and more destructive, with prior military strategies and equipment obsolete. New alliances are already challenging America’s dominant position. The world will become more dangerous as America’s old-world order cannot be maintained as before.
The United States’ unenviable location within the temperate temperature zone and amid the Western Hemisphere, facing both major oceans, still affords our country key assets to lead a Second American Century. Our population is aging more slowly, and our culture allows us to absorb healthy young migrants to sustain rapid growth and provide for our aged.
However, our political institutions have divided our citizens ideologically. America cannot continue to prosper by becoming divided by following ‘newer isms’ that are built upon discredited socialist ideologies. Americans must understand and make corrections that uncapped debt cannot continue. Our people must not be misled that science is not God, that it cannot make men into women, and that our planet’s climate is not under human control. We must understand that cultures are slow to change and should not be undertaken lightly without being willing to become responsible for the unintended consequences.
Finally, we must remember the first American Century began with Roosevelt’s ‘walk softly but carry a big stick’ and ended with Reagan’s ‘peace through strength’, because Communist China today and others at some future day may require our country to defend itself again. A Second American Century can be ours, but it is not inevitable if we forget to live by our Founders’ Constitution.
TW3
July 24, 2025
John Whitmore Jenkins
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