Why Geography Makes The US Insanely OP

Why Geography Makes The US Insanely OP

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Select video clips courtesy of Getty Images

Select video clips courtesy of the AP Archive

Special thanks to MapTiler / OpenStreetMap Contributors and GEOlayers 3

Sources/Further Reading:

The Accidental Superpower, by Peter Zeihan. Order your own copy here: https://www.amazon.com/Accidental-Superpower-Generation-American-Preeminence/dp/1455583685 (this is not an affiliate link)

The New Map: Energy, Climate, and the Clash of Nations, by Daniel Yergin. Order your own copy here: https://www.amazon.com/New-Map-Energy-Climate-Nations/dp/1594206430 (also not an affiliate link)

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30 Responses

  1. RealLifeLore says:

    I know this is a super long video, but there’s really just too much to cover. I could’ve spent hours on this subject. Anyway, if you want to watch another 40-minute long video covering the entire US War in Afghanistan from beginning to end, you can check it out here on Nebula: https://bit.ly/3B05iUU. You can watch that one for free, and if you want to watch some of the other 15 episodes I have in the Modern Conflicts series, the best way to get access is just by signing up for the Nebula/CuriosityStream bundle for $14.79 a year here: https://curiositystream.com/?coupon=reallifelore New episodes in that series are releasing every single month on Nebula!

    Thanks,
    Joseph

  2. Yora says:

    The North Sea coast in the Netherlands, Germany, and Denmark also has barrier islands similar to the US. Except that Long Island alone is three times larger than all the Frisian Islands combined.

    • Gilbert Filbert says:

      YOOO LONG ISLAND IM FROM THAT SHIT

    • we says:

      Doomsday is on the horizon. Believe Jesus is the Son of God. If you follow the Bible you will know that most all of the 1,800 prophecies has come to pass. Once the final few happen Jesus Christ will return.
      “If anyone is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” Our Saviour Jesus Christ died so that we will live. Jesus said, “I’m the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”. John 14:6.
      Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
      So, believe in our God

    • Eric Morris says:

      @Jon W not only that but California is named America’s worst state

    • Edvin says:

      @Why Comes
      You might live for YT comment sections like this. Enjoy 💋

  3. Jacob Johansen says:

    21:55 I remember someone once saying that, while the US has many great allies, their staunchest, most reliable allies are the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.

    • BrowncoatInABox says:

      I couldn’t say it better myself

    • Ralph Green Jr. says:

      That someone was, Otto Von Bismark.

    • Deborah Hebblethwaite says:

      @Chaos T Hope your right🇨🇦 The world is getting to be a very unstable scary place. I do think we as in North America should work on bringing stability to central and South America. Through trade, not war….They are a mess and the only way the border issue will be solved is for these countries to become better economically speaking. As a Canadian I would like better relations with Cuba for instance. Reducing and removing sanctions would be helpful. As well as SA countries.

    • D Sullivan says:

      …All the armies of Europe, and Asia could never by force, take a drink from the Ohio River, or make a track, on the Blue Ridge…

  4. Grey No says:

    Growing up in St. Louis gave me an appreciation for the Mississippi-Missouri River system as an economic powerhouse. I’d argue that St. Louis is the most strategically viable location for the US capital, given its location at the joining of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers and its central location. Gabaret Island and Choteau Island are easily defensible, and should New Orleans fall into enemy hands a location on the Mississippi-Missouri would allow this hypothetical St. Louis capital to still reap the benefits of the 4th largest river system in the world. Historically, before the invention of phones and the internet, St. Louis’ location is ideal. Information could be sent quickly to and from any tributary of the Mississippi to the capital. Had St. Louis been developed as the capital of the US, it would also be an ideal railway hub. I may be a bit biased

    • jacob bernard says:

      It’s also no coincidence that St Louis is the major US city closest to the gravitational center of population.

  5. Raymond Saldana says:

    I love the amount of work you put into both the research and animations.

  6. Kaleb Bruwer says:

    It’s also important that, for almost two centuries, America was geographically separated from any other superpower and rarely fought wars on home soil. They were practically unscathed by WWI and WWII, so afterwards they modernized while other countries were rebuilding from the ashes.

    Modern technology brought this to an end, though.

    • huntclan hunt says:

      Not yet. We still haven’t had to fight a war on our soil. Closest would have been 9/11, which while tragic, was hardly the same damage as a war.

  7. JC Elizondo says:

    You could have also mentioned the easy access to vast deposits of coal, copper and iron in Appalachia and Great Lakes which allowed for the quick and early industrialization of the region. And that even the parts of the county without navigable rivers (i.e. the southwest) has a vast mineral wealth to make up for it.

    • Defective says:

      @we unsubscribe

    • we says:

      Jesus is the Way the truth and the life. He accepts you no matter where you’ve been. Doomsday is on the horizon. Believe Jesus is the Son of God. Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord. Read the Bible!
      Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
      So, believe in Jesus Christ

  8. Yosef Robinson says:

    Another European-settled New World country with a geography similar to the US, albeit on a smaller scale, is Argentina (plus Uruguay). The Parana/Uruguay/Rio de la Plata system is sort of like the Mississippi River basin with its tributaries (a difference being that many of their tributaries, especially to the west, are seasonal and can dry out pretty much), and the Pampas grow wheat, corn, etc. like the Prairies/Great Plains. Argentina (along with far southern Chile right next door plus the nearby Falklands/Malvinas) has significant oil/gas-rich areas. It has the geographic barrier of the Andes to the west and of the Atlantic to the east.

    However, unlike the US, it has had (at least in the past) rivalries with some neighbouring countries, namely Chile and Brazil. Another point of difference from the US, from a purely geographical point of view, is that there are no barrier islands (though there are some in southernmost Brazil, on the other side of Uruguay).

  9. james anderson says:

    When 40 minutes of knowledge provides so much insight of supply chain and logistics within than someone could learn in their first year of supply chain and logistics at university level. Our school system is messed up. Too much info but hardly anything to the point. Indeed a great channels !

  10. Awsome says:

    Great video! This reminds of a recent video i saw of the great Thomas Sowell that explained that the biggest reason why the African continent is so underdeveloped and always has been through out history is a geography problem. They have almost no navigable rivers (they’re shallow and full of rapids), no safe coastline for deep water ports, and almost all of the rivers are supplied by seasoned rainfall, instead of a steady supply of water from glaciers or mountains. These are also the reasons why Europe was very highly developed continent throughout history – naturally protected coastlines, deep rivers without rapids that go through the continent, and huge planes to grow food. So basically, the places that had geography in their favor, like rivers as natural highways, and protected coastlines had huge advantage in developing trade and therefore technologically evolve.
    I cant post links on youtube, so if you want to check it out you can type in the search bar:

    Why Africa Remained Poor | Thomas Sowell

    • Kaisa Azaria says:

      The US is basically like a second Europe. From there, the US has the advantage that there’s no threats in their continent, while Europe isn’t so safe. But both places are close to perfect from a geographic point of view.

    • heldig says:

      I hope nobody got offended by this 😃. Good for you bringing up Thomas Sowell, because he is quite less mentioned.

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