Series Intro: What Happened to the American Century?
For most of the last 80 years, the United States didn’t just lead the world—it built the system the world runs on.
We called it Pax Americana—Latin for “American Peace.”
It promised prosperity, order, and stability—at home and abroad.
And for a while, it delivered.
But today, the cracks are impossible to ignore:
Millions of good jobs gone
Factory towns hollowed out
A middle class that’s no longer climbing
A nation more divided—and more uncertain—than it’s been in generations
So what happened?
Was it trade?
Automation?
Policy failure?
Or was it something deeper—a broken promise buried beneath decades of economic change?
This 3-Week Series Tries to Answer That.
We’re going to tell a story over the next three weeks—one post each day—looking at:
Week 1: What Was Pax Americana?
How the U.S. shaped the post-WWII global order through military might, cultural influence, and economic strategy.
Week 2: How Trade Became a Superpower Tool
How opening markets brought peace and power—and laid the groundwork for the biggest economic transformation in U.S. history.
Week 3: The Fallout at Home
How automation, offshoring, and policy failures gutted American industry—and what we’re doing now to try and rebuild.
Who This Is For
If you’ve ever wondered why your hometown doesn’t feel the same…
If you’ve heard “globalization” blamed for everything but don’t know what it actually means…
If you’ve watched leaders promise to “bring our jobs back” and wondered if that’s even possible…
This series is for you.
No jargon. No shouting.
Just clear, honest storytelling—about where we’ve been, what we’ve lost, and what we still might build.
Start Here. Come Back Tomorrow.
This isn’t just a history lesson. It’s a story about us—and where we go from here.
Subscribe, bookmark, or follow along daily.
Because to fix what’s broken, we have to understand what we were trying to build in the first place.