One of the things I really hate about the US is how they got to where they are through pure luck. Europeans found a continent occupied by savages that could offer no real resistance, the British fought hard with the French and Spanish for her share and managed to established numerous colonies. The colonies themselves were now in a position where they occupied a whole continent basically unopposed, not only that but a continent separated on both sides by huge oceans.

They never had to work or fight for anything, their success was guaranteed. The British were never going to be able to hold on to something so large and far away while at war with France, nor was Spain or France going to be able to oppose the US there. There are so many resources there and it's so far away from any threat that it's almost impossible to fail to be a superpower, they never had to work for it, it fell into their lap.