History Main / AmericaTakesOverTheWorld

The USA is capable not only of exterminating with its long-range nuclear arsenal, but possibly also using ground forces to successfully invade and occupy any country on Earth including China and India (although the experience of Vietnam should show that superior military hardware is no guarantee against a lower-tech foe with sheer numbers, determination, and significant foreign material aid). Given that the USA chews through about half the entire world's military spending ''on its own'', it might still have this kind of power in forty years or so. Thus, a common conceit of sci-fi and some {{satire}} is for the USA to take over the world. Jokes about entire countries becoming the n+50th state are common. The recent economic shift in the new millennium will put this theory to the test. Since at least the 1980s, American culture has grown very popular worldwide due to the rise of computers and the Internet, fast food joints (i.e. [=McDonald=]'s) and Hollywood movies that use computer generated imagery (CGI) and special effects that are far more renowned than those found in another film industry. While its secondary school test scores are sometimes dismissed as [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Programme_for_International_Student_Assessment#PISA_2015_ranking_summary average]] [[note]]Which, while [[ExactWords technically true]], is misleading in the same way as saying that the [[MathematiciansAnswer average person has one ovary and one testicle]]. White Americans outscore White Europeans, Hispanic and Black Americans outscore Hispanics and blacks in other countries, and Asian Americans are in the top five for Asians. The supposedly modest "average" score is caused by the fact that [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_United_States#Race_and_ethnicity the US is more diverse than other developed countries]].[[/note]] by upper income nation standards, it has a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_tertiary_education_attainment very high rate of tertiary education attainment]] (even by upper income standards) and the best universities in the world,[[note]]On the Shanghai Rankings, Times Higher Education Rankings, U.S. News and World Report Rankings, and Center For World University Rankings, the U.S. possesses around a quarter of the world's top 1,000 universities and the majority of the world's top 100, despite having less than 5% of the planet's population.[[/note]] and is considered to possess greater technology and better-access markets to commodities than any other nation. A strong plurality of the world's billionaires are Americans, with Amazon CEO and founder Jeff Bezos being the richest (although fluctuations in his company's value can make him swap ranks with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates).

* ''WesternAnimation/TeamAmericaWorldPolice'' revolves around a team of American patriot puppets enforcing America's own interests across the globe and that the only nation gone rogue is North Korea.

-->'''Bill Williamson''': America is the mightiest military superpower in the world fueld by high-tech and geniuses in Silicon Valley and massive advances in computer technology. All just to conquer for the purpose of more poor nations and enslave, raping their companies and exploit their domestic resources.

* In ''Film/GIJoeRetaliation'', following Cobra's successful subjugation of the White House and kidnapping the US President as while Zartan impersonates the real one, Zartan calls for a mandatory global summit of every country that holds nuclear weapons for universal disarmament. When the Russian president refuses to give up his own nuclear arsenal (plus standing up for his ally China's self-defense), Zartan decides there's only one option left: fire the US nukes at them. To prevent a global cataclysm that could kill billions, the rest of the atomic powers all unilaterally destroy their own nuclear arsenals only when Zartan starts eliminating his own. Then Zartan unleashes Project Zeus, a satellite Cobra built and installed in space that fires tungsten-rods capable of destroying any city of their choosing. At that point Cobra Commander stepped in and was about to declare himself the new Dictator of the Earth before the newly reformed GI Joe intervened. But even though Cobra Commander lost his iron grip on the world, America still remains the winner at the end since the rest of the countries lack the finances to rebuild their nuclear arsenals back to its original numbers, albeit just not as powerful as at the beginning because the GI Joes dismantle Project Zeus.

* Bill Williamson in ''Film/Rampage2009'' (directed by Scandinavian socialist Uwe Boll) states this trope is in full effect and he is anti-American. Bill, who was a low-class mechanic making $8 or less an hour, took to becoming a mass shooter and did armed robbery on a bank to escape his financial problems. Bill asserts that America is without universal health care, strict gun control, regulation on big banks, livable wages and overspends on its military and defense enforcing its best interests upon foreign lands instead of spending on its own people for health care, education, housing or food.

* In ''Film/GIJoeRetaliation'', following Cobra's successful subjugation of the White House and kidnapping the US President as while Zartan impersonates the real one, Zartan calls for a mandatory global summit of every country that holds nuclear weapons for universal disarmament. When the Russian president refuses to give up his own nuclear arsenal (plus standing up for his ally China's self-defense), Zartan decides there's only one option left: fire the US nukes at them. To prevent a global cataclysm that could kill billions, the rest of the atomic powers all unilaterally destroy their own nuclear arsenals only when Zartan starts eliminating his own. Then Zartan unleashes Project Zeus, a satellite Cobra built and installed in space that fires tungsten-rods capable of destroying any city of their choosing. At that point Cobra Commander stepped in and was about to declare himself the new Dictator of the Earth before the newly assembled GI Joe intervened. But even though Cobra Commander lost his iron grip on the world, America still remains the winner at the end since the rest of the countries lack the finances to rebuild their nuclear arsenals back to its original numbers, albeit just not as powerful as at the beginning because the GI Joes dismantle Project Zeus.

* ''VideoGame/DestroyAllHumans'' has Crypto, a grey alien with genocidal intents for the human race, as its main protagonist who starts fighting for American hegemony (since he decided to eventually become President of the United States and boss the military into rounding up humans for extermination). The sequel has him waging war upon the Soviet Union.

* ''VideoGame/DestroyAllHumans'' has Crypto, a grey alien with genocidal intents for the human race, as its main protagonist who starts fighting for American hegemony (simply because he decided to eventually become President of the United States and boss the military into rounding up humans for extermination). The sequel has him waging war upon the Soviet Union.

The USA is capable not only of exterminating with its long-range nuclear arsenal, but possibly also using ground forces to successfully invade and occupy any country on Earth including China and India (although the experience of Vietnam should show that superior military hardware is no guarantee against a lower-tech foe with sheer numbers, determination, and significant foreign material aid). Given that the USA chews through about half the entire world's military spending ''on its own'', it might still have this kind of power in forty years or so. Thus, a common conceit of sci-fi and some {{satire}} is for the USA to take over the world. Jokes about entire countries becoming the n+50th state are common. The recent economic shift in the new millennium will put this theory to the test. Since at least the 1980s, American culture has grown very popular worldwide due to the rise of computers and the Internet, fast food joints (i.e. [=McDonald=]'s) and Hollywood movies that use computer generated imagery (CGI) and special effects that are far more renowned than those found in another film industry. While its secondary school test scores are sometimes dismissed as [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Programme_for_International_Student_Assessment#PISA_2015_ranking_summary average]] [[note]]Which, while [[ExactWords technically true]], is misleading in the same way as saying that the [[MathematiciansAnswer average person has one ovary and one testicle]]. White Americans outscore White Europeans, Hispanic and Black Americans outscore Hispanics and blacks in other countries, and Asian Americans are in the top five for Asians. The supposedly modest "average" score is caused by the fact that [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_United_States#Race_and_ethnicity the US is more diverse than other developed countries]].[[/note]] by upper income nation standards, it has a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_tertiary_education_attainment very high rate of tertiary education attainment]] (even by upper income standards) and the best universities in the world,[[note]]On the Shanghai Rankings, Times Higher Education Rankings, U.S. News and World Report Rankings, and Center For World University Rankings, the U.S. possesses around a quarter of the world's top 1,000 universities and the majority of the world's top 100, despite having less than 5% of the planet's population.[[/note]] and is considered to possess greater technology and better-access markets to commodities than any other nation. Most of the world's billionaires are Americans, with Amazon CEO and founder Jeff Bezos being the richest (although fluctuations in his company's value can make him swap ranks with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates).

* Bill Williamson in ''Film/Rampage2009'' (directed by Scandinavian socialist Uwe Boll) states this trope is in full effect and he is anti-American. Bill asserts that Americans spread capitalism and wealth inequality much like a plague citing that America is without universal health care, strict gun control, regulation on big banks, livable wages and overspends on its military and defense instead of on its own people.

The USA is capable not only of exterminating with its long-range nuclear arsenal, but possibly also using ground forces to successfully invade and occupy any country on Earth including China and India (although the experience of Vietnam should show that superior military hardware is no guarantee against a lower-tech foe with sheer numbers, determination, and significant foreign material aid). Given that the USA chews through about half the entire world's military spending ''on its own'', it might still have this kind of power in forty years or so. Thus, a common conceit of sci-fi and some {{satire}} is for the USA to take over the world. Jokes about entire countries becoming the n+50th state are common. The recent economic shift in the new millennium will put this theory to the test. Since at least the 1980s, American culture has grown very popular worldwide due to the rise of computers and the Internet, fast food joints (i.e. [=McDonald=]'s) and Hollywood movies that use computer generated imagery (CGI) and special effects that are far more renowned than those found in another film industry. While its secondary school test scores are sometimes dismissed as [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Programme_for_International_Student_Assessment#PISA_2015_ranking_summary average]] [[note]]Which, while [[ExactWords technically true]], is misleading in the same way as saying that the [[MathematiciansAnswer average person has one ovary and one testicle]]. White Americans outscore White Europeans, Hispanic and Black Americans outscore Hispanics and blacks in other countries, and Asian Americans are in the top five for Asians. The supposedly modest "average" score is caused by the fact that [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_United_States#Race_and_ethnicity the US is more diverse than other developed countries]].[[/note]] by upper income nation standards, it has a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_tertiary_education_attainment very high rate of tertiary education attainment]] (even by upper income standards) and the best universities in the world,[[note]]On the Shanghai Rankings, Times Higher Education Rankings, U.S. News and World Report Rankings, and Center For World University Rankings, the U.S. possesses around a quarter of the world's top 1,000 universities and the majority of the world's top 100, despite having less than 5% of the planet's population.[[/note]] and is considered to possess greater technology and better-access markets to commodities than any other nation. Most of the world's billionaires are Americans, with Amazon CEO and founder Jeff Bezos being the richest.

* Perhaps the most dramatic time the USA explicitly took possession of land besides the contiguous United States by force was in the Spanish American War, and seized territory generally either given back to its occupants or agreements were signed to do so--however some territories, such as UsefulNotes/{{Guam}}, remained in US possession. The USA's preferred method was to make economic partners of defeated nations and leave a few military bases behind, but restore political and military independence. However, in the Pacific, the USA seized the Kingdom of Hawaii by force, dismantling the Hawaiian monarchy in the process. It invaded the Philippines, recently liberated from the Spanish by the war, and occupied it by force against a resistance army. It also took American Samoa following a conflict with the islands' previous imperial overlord, Germany--this involved partitioning American Samoa from the rest of UsefulNotes/{{Samoa}}.

The USA is capable not only of exterminating with its long-range nuclear arsenal, but possibly also using ground forces to successfully invade and occupy any country on Earth including China and India (although the experience of Vietnam should show that superior military hardware is no guarantee against a lower-tech foe with sheer numbers, determination, and significant foreign material aid). Given that the USA chews through about half the entire world's military spending ''on its own'', it might still have this kind of power in forty years or so. Thus, a common conceit of sci-fi and some {{satire}} is for the USA to take over the world. Jokes about entire countries becoming the n+50th state are common. The recent economic shift in the new millennium will put this theory to the test. Since at least the 1980s, American culture has grown very popular worldwide due to the rise of computers and the Internet, fast food joints (i.e. [=McDonald=]'s) and Hollywood movies that use computer generated imagery (CGI) and special effects that are far more renowned than those found in another film industry. While its secondary school test scores are merely [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Programme_for_International_Student_Assessment#PISA_2015_ranking_summary average]] by upper income nation standards, it has a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_tertiary_education_attainment very high rate of tertiary education attainment]] (even by upper income standards) and the best universities in the world,[[note]]On the Shanghai Rankings, Times Higher Education Rankings, U.S. News and World Report Rankings, and Center For World University Rankings, the U.S. possesses around a quarter of the world's top 1,000 universities and the majority of the world's top 100, despite having less than 5% of the planet's population.[[/note]] and is considered to possess greater technology and better-access markets to commodities than any other nation. Most of the world's billionaires are Americans, with Amazon CEO and founder Jeff Bezos being the richest.

The USA is capable not only of exterminating with its long-range nuclear arsenal, but possibly also using ground forces to successfully invade and occupy any country on Earth including China and India (although the experience of Vietnam should show that superior military hardware is no guarantee against a lower-tech foe with sheer numbers, determination, and significant foreign material aid). Given that the USA chews through about half the entire world's military spending ''on its own'', it might still have this kind of power in forty years or so. Thus, a common conceit of sci-fi and some {{satire}} is for the USA to take over the world. Jokes about entire countries becoming the n+50th state are common. The recent economic shift in the new millennium will put this theory to the test. Since at least the 1980s, American culture has grown very popular worldwide due to the rise of computers and the Internet, fast food joints (i.e. [=McDonald=]'s) and Hollywood movies that use computer generated imagery (CGI) and special effects that are far more renowned than those found in another film industry. Despite having students who score poorly on tests for nearly every academic category such as math and science, the United States is considered to possess greater technology and better-access markets to commodities than any other nation (although engineers from South Korea and Japan helped make improvements to American technology). Most of the world's billionaires are Americans, with Amazon CEO and founder Jeff Bezos being the richest.

* In ''Film/GIJoeRetaliation'', following Cobra's successful subjugation of the White House and kidnapping the US President as while Zartan impersonates the real one, Zartan calls for a mandatory global summit of every country that holds nuclear weapons for universal disarmament. When the Russian president sternly refuses to give up his own nuclear arsenal (plus standing up for his allies China and North Korea), Zartan decides there's only one option left: fire the US nukes at them. The rest of the atomic powers all unilaterally destroy their own nuclear arsenals only when Zartan starts eliminating his own. Then Zartan unleashes Project Zeus, a satellite Cobra built and installed in space that fires tungsten-rods capable of destroying any city of their choosing. At that point Cobra Commander stepped in and was about to declare himself the new Dictator of the Earth before the newly assembled GI Joe intervened. But even though Cobra Commander lost his iron grip on the world, America still remains the winner at the end since the rest of the countries lack the finances to rebuild their nuclear arsenals back to its original numbers, albeit just not as powerful as at the beginning because the GI Joes dismantle Project Zeus.

Even in spite of all this, however, America still remains the world's preeminent military, economic, and cultural force, accounting for 25% of world GDP and 40% of world military spending on their own. The US' allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the Organization of American States, as well as major non-NATO allies like UsefulNotes/{{Japan}}, UsefulNotes/{{Australia}}, UsefulNotes/SouthKorea, UsefulNotes/SaudiArabia, and UsefulNotes/{{Israel}}, comprise the lion's share of world power; if they were collectively viewed as an American empire (as critics of American foreign policy often proclaim it to be), then the United States would currently be in possession of the greatest empire that history has ever known, with 60%+ of world GDP and the vast majority of the world's intellectual capital and industrial capacity (to wit, South Korea alone has a larger economy than Russia). The US dollar is the world's reserve currency, with only the euro as a serious competitor (and even then, it is a distant second). Its military can deploy hundreds of thousands of soldiers supported by carrier-borne aircraft to any corner of the globe on short notice and doesn't even need a single American soldier on the ground to destroy minor powers, as interventions in Iraq, Syria, Serbia, and Libya have demonstrated. Its economy [[https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2019/01/02/the-fastest-growers-and-biggest-shrinkers-of-2019 still prospers]] even as most other developed countries stagnate and rapidly growing middle income economies (like China) begin to slow. [[EaglelandOsmosis American food, films, fashion, and pop music can be found on every continent]], and its celebrities renowned throughout the world, to the point where both supporters and critics of the US have cited its 'soft power' (or, alternatively, 'cultural imperialism') as one of its greatest tools and weapons in maintaining its alliances. The only nations that are openly antagonistic to the US (as opposed to frenemies like Russia and China) are mostly so-called "rogue states" with few friends of any kind in the world, like UsefulNotes/{{Iran}}, UsefulNotes/NorthKorea, UsefulNotes/{{Syria}}, UsefulNotes/{{Libya}} (before UsefulNotes/TheArabSpring), and the Islamic State.

* In ''Film/GIJoeRetaliation'', following Cobra's successful subjugation of the White House and kidnapping the US President as while Zartan impersonates the real one, Zartan calls for a mandatory global summit of every country that holds nuclear weapons for universal disarmament. When the Russian president sternly refuses to give up his own nuclear arsenal (plus standing up for his allies China and North Korea), Zartan decides there's only one option left: fire the US nukes at them. The rest of the atomic powers all unilaterally destroy their own nuclear arsenals only when Zartan starts eliminating his own. Then Zartan unleashes Project Zeus, a satellite Cobra built and installed in space that fires tungsten-rods capable of destroying any city of their choosing. At that point Cobra Commander stepped in and was about to declare himself the new Dictator of the Earth before the newly assembled GI Joe intervened. But even though Cobra Commander lost his iron grip on the world, America still remains the winner at the end since the rest of the countries lack the finances to rebuild their nuclear arsenals back to its original numbers.

The USA is capable not only of exterminating with its long-range nuclear arsenal, but possibly also using ground forces to successfully invade and occupy any country on Earth including China and India (although the experience of Vietnam should show that superior military hardware is no guarantee against a lower-tech foe with sheer numbers, determination, and significant foreign material aid). Given that the USA chews through about half the entire world's military spending ''on its own'', it might still have this kind of power in forty years or so. Thus, a common conceit of sci-fi and some {{satire}} is for the USA to take over the world. Jokes about entire countries becoming the n+50th state are common. The recent economic shift in the new millennium will put this theory to the test. Since at least the 1980s, American culture has grown very popular worldwide due to the rise of computers and the Internet, fast food joints (i.e. [=McDonald=]'s) and Hollywood movies. Despite having students who score poorly on tests for nearly every academic category such as math and science, the United States is considered to possess greater technology and better-access markets to commodities than any other nation (although engineers from South Korea and Japan helped make improvements to American technology). Most of the world's billionaires are Americans, with Amazon CEO and founder Jeff Bezos being the richest.

The USA is capable not only of exterminating with its long-range nuclear arsenal, but possibly also using ground forces to successfully invade and occupy any country on Earth including China and India (although the experience of Vietnam should show that superior military hardware is no guarantee against a lower-tech foe with sheer numbers, determination, and significant foreign material aid). Given that the USA chews through about half the entire world's military spending ''on its own'', it might still have this kind of power in forty years or so. Thus, a common conceit of sci-fi and some {{satire}} is for the USA to take over the world. Jokes about entire countries becoming the n+50th state are common. The recent economic shift in the new millennium will put this theory to the test. Since at least the 1980s, American culture has grown very popular worldwide due to the rise of computers and the Internet, fast food joints (i.e. [=McDonald=]'s) and Hollywood movies.

The USA is capable not only of exterminating with its long-range nuclear arsenal, but possibly also using ground forces to successfully invade and occupy any country on Earth including China and India (although the experience of Vietnam should show that superior military hardware is no guarantee against a lower-tech foe with sheer numbers, determination, and significant foreign material aid). Given that the USA chews through about half the entire world's military spending ''on its own'', it might still have this kind of power in forty years or so. Thus, a common conceit of sci-fi and some {{satire}} is for the USA to take over the world. Jokes about entire countries becoming the n+50th state are common. The recent economic shift in the new millennium will put this theory to the test.

SubTrope of both TakeOverTheWorld and ExpandedStatesOfAmerica. Compare UnitedSpaceOfAmerica. See also RussiaTakesOverTheWorld, JapanTakesOverTheWorld, and ChinaTakesOverTheWorld.

* The album ''The Uprising'' by Music/{{Muse}} takes place in a world where a coalition government rules all of the Norther Hemisphere, the United States of Eurasia

* ''Series/TheGoodies''. In the "Clown Virus" episode, the United States military has gotten so used to regarding Great Britain as a [=51st=] state of the US that they decide to take it over completely, so they can write it off as a tax loss.

The USA is capable not only of exterminating with its long-range nuclear arsenal, but possibly also using ground forces to successfully invade and occupy any country on Earth including China and India (although the experience of Vietnam should show that superior military hardware is no guarantee against a lower-tech foe with sheer numbers, determination, and significant foreign material aid). Given that the USA chews through about half the entire world's military spending ''on its own'', it might still have this kind of power in forty years or so. However, the recent invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq have drained the country's military to the point of being incapable of fighting two wars at once, much less large and growing countries like China and India at once, at least not without committing a lot more of its strength than it's been doing. Furthermore, increased military spending by China, India, and Russia mean that the United States "only" spends 37% of the global total. Counterbalancing this is the experience, logistical capability, and existing technological edge still held by the American military. So, who can say?

Thus, a common conceit of sci-fi and some {{satire}} is for the USA to take over the world. Jokes about entire countries becoming the n+50th state are common. The recent economic shift in the new millennium will put this theory to the test.

The USA is capable not only of exterminating with its long-range nuclear arsenal, but possibly also using ground forces to successfully invade and occupy any country on Earth including China and India (although the experience Vietnam should show that superior military hardware is no guarantee against a lower-tech foe with sheer numbers, determination, and significant foreign material aid). Given that the USA chews through about half the entire world's military spending ''on its own'', it might still have this kind of power in forty years or so. However, the recent invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq have drained the country's military to the point of being incapable of fighting two wars at once, much less large and growing countries like China and India at once, at least not without committing a lot more of its strength than it's been doing. Furthermore, increased military spending by China, India, and Russia mean that the United States "only" spends 37% of the global total. Counterbalancing this is the experience, logistical capability, and existing technological edge still held by the American military. So, who can say?

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' varies between the presence and absence of this trope depending on the [[RuleOfFunny needs of the joke]], but it most commonly presents Earth as a single political entity, ruled from Washington according to the American political model. Earth's flag is just the modern American flag with the stars replaced by a globe [[HemisphereBias centred on America]]. Also, in one episode, Richard Nixon was initially unable to run for president of Earth due to already serving two terms, indicating continuity between the modern US government of the 1970s and the Earth government of 3000.