The decade of the 1890s begins with the emergence of the United States as a world power. It was a world power in some ways throughout the 19th century. At the turn of the century, the US became the pre-eminent power on face of earth. By 1890, the United States had by far the world 's most productive economy. American industry produced twice as much as its closest competitor which was Britain. The United States did not a great military or diplomatic power. Its army numbered less than 30,000 troops, and its navy had only about 10,000 seamen. Britain 's army was five times the size of its American counterpart, and its navy was ten times bigger. The United States ' military was small because the country was situated between two large oceans and was surrounded by weak or friendly nations. It faced no serious military threats and had little interest in asserting military power overseas.
In the
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The U.S. was awash in an abundance of natural resources from its newly acquired territories, a growing supply of labor immigrating from Europe, and the migration of emancipated African Americans North and West, an expanding market for manufactured goods, and the availability of capital for investment. The Second Industrial Revolution took local communities and their new products out of the shadow of large regional agricultural based economies which was assisted by new labor forces and production techniques. During the Second Industrial Revolution, innovations in transportation, such as roads, steamboats, the Eerie Canal, and most notably railroads, linked