America's Enduring Power
RO

Transparency

Sources & credits

153 sources across six chapters and 60 photographs. All of them are listed here, so you can check any number yourself.

Method

How the numbers were chosen

Primary sources first

Official statistics (IMF, World Bank, BEA, Census, SIPRI, NSF, NIH, the Nobel Foundation) are preferred over press summaries.

Latest available year

Every figure is the most recent one published at the time of writing, and its year is stated. Estimates are labelled as such.

Balance on purpose

Each chapter includes a Challenges & debates section that presents critics' strongest arguments next to supporters' replies.

Security

Security: Alliances, Arms and Open Seas

  1. SIPRI, Trends in World Military Expenditure, 2025 (Fact Sheet), April 2026 — sipri.org
  2. SIPRI Military Expenditure Database, 1949–2025, updated 27 April 2026 — sipri.org
  3. SIPRI, Trends in International Arms Transfers, 2025 (Fact Sheet), March 2026 — sipri.org
  4. NATO, NATO member countries, 2024 — nato.int
  5. NATO, Collective defence and Article 5 — nato.int
  6. NATO, Defence Expenditure of NATO Countries (2014–2025), August 2025 — nato.int
  7. NATO, The North Atlantic Council appoints General Dwight D. Eisenhower to be the first SACEUR, 19 December 1950 — nato.int
  8. The White House, Indo-Pacific Strategy of the United States, February 2022 — bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov
  9. Congressional Research Service, U.S. Overseas Basing: Background and Issues for Congress (R48123), July 2024 — congress.gov
  10. USAFacts, Where are US military members stationed? (Defense Manpower Data Center data as of 31 December 2025) — usafacts.org
  11. Vine, Deppen and Bolger, Drawdown: Improving U.S. and Global Security Through Military Base Closures Abroad, Quincy Institute, 2021 — quincyinst.org
  12. 10 U.S. Code § 8062, Navy: composition; functions (Cornell LII) — law.cornell.edu
  13. US Energy Information Administration, Amid regional conflict, the Strait of Hormuz remains critical oil chokepoint, 2025 — eia.gov
  14. US Department of Defense (War), Annual Freedom of Navigation Report, Fiscal Year 2025 — policy.war.gov
  15. Associated Press via NPR, U.S. military strikes Iran, while Trump vows more for Tehran's retaliation, 2 September 2026 — npr.org
  16. Federation of American Scientists, Status of World Nuclear Forces, 2026 — fas.org
  17. United Nations Secretary-General, Statement on the expiration of the New START Treaty, 5 February 2026 — un.org
  18. GPS.gov, Space Segment — gps.gov
  19. GPS.gov, Selective Availability — archive.gps.gov
  20. DVIDS, USS Ronald Reagan reflects on the 10-year anniversary of Operation Tomodachi, 2021 — dvidshub.net
  21. Costs of War Project, Brown University, Fact Sheet: The True Costs of the Post-9/11 Wars, 2026 — costsofwar.watson.brown.edu
  22. National Archives, President Dwight D. Eisenhower's Farewell Address (1961) — archives.gov
  23. Nobel Foundation, George C. Marshall – Facts, Nobel Peace Prize 1953 — nobelprize.org
  24. Naval History and Heritage Command, Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz — history.navy.mil
  25. US Department of State, Office of the Historian, Colin Luther Powell — history.state.gov

Economy

Economy: The World's Biggest Market

  1. IMF, World Economic Outlook database, April 2026 (GDP in current US dollars, GDP per capita, PPP share of world GDP, real growth) — imf.org
  2. IMF, Currency Composition of Official Foreign Exchange Reserves (COFER) database, and data brief for 2026Q1, July 1, 2026 — data.imf.org
  3. Bank for International Settlements, Triennial Central Bank Survey: OTC foreign exchange turnover in April 2025 — bis.org
  4. Federal Reserve Board, FEDS Notes: The International Role of the U.S. Dollar, 2025 Edition, July 18, 2025 — federalreserve.gov
  5. SIFMA, 10 Key Findings from SIFMA's 2026 Capital Markets Fact Book, 2026 — sifma.org
  6. World Trade Organization, Global Trade Outlook and Statistics, March 2026 (incl. Appendix Table 1, leading traders in 2025) — wto.org
  7. US Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services, December and Annual 2025, 2026 — bea.gov
  8. US Census Bureau, Trade in Goods by Country (annual totals, 2025) — census.gov
  9. US Energy Information Administration, The United States produced more crude oil than any other country in 2025, July 9, 2026 — eia.gov
  10. US Energy Information Administration, Three U.S. regions each produce more natural gas than most countries, November 7, 2025 — eia.gov
  11. US Energy Information Administration, Global liquefied natural gas trade volumes reached record high in 2025, July 14, 2026 — eia.gov
  12. USDA Economic Research Service, U.S. agricultural export values of bulk products fall in 2025 (chart gallery), 2026 — ers.usda.gov
  13. US Census Bureau, Business Formation Statistics (monthly business applications, 2019-2025) — census.gov
  14. US Department of State, Office of the Historian, Bretton Woods-GATT, 1941-1947 — history.state.gov
  15. Federal Reserve History, Nixon Ends Convertibility of US Dollars to Gold and Announces Wage/Price Controls — federalreservehistory.org
  16. Congressional Research Service, The International Monetary Fund (IF10676) — congress.gov
  17. US Department of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton (1789-1795), Prior Secretaries — home.treasury.gov
  18. Carnegie Corporation of New York, Andrew Carnegie's Story — carnegie.org
  19. Library of Congress, This Month in Business History: Ford Implements the Moving Assembly Line — guides.loc.gov
  20. Congressional Budget Office, The Budget and Economic Outlook: 2026 to 2036, February 2026 — cbo.gov
  21. Federal Reserve Board, Distributional Financial Accounts (shares of net worth by wealth percentile, 2026Q2) — federalreserve.gov
  22. US Census Bureau, Income in the United States: 2025 (P60-289), September 2026 — census.gov
  23. The Budget Lab at Yale, The State of U.S. Tariffs, August 24, 2026 — budgetlab.yale.edu
  24. Supreme Court of the United States, Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, No. 24-1287, decided February 20, 2026 — supremecourt.gov
  25. US Department of the Treasury, Treasury Prohibits Transactions with Central Bank of Russia and Imposes Sanctions on Key Sources of Russia's Wealth, February 28, 2022 — home.treasury.gov

Innovation

Innovation: The Idea Machine

  1. OECD, Main Science and Technology Indicators (March 2026 edition), GERD in current PPP dollars and as % of GDP, 2024 — oecd.org
  2. Stanford HAI, The 2026 AI Index Report: Top Takeaways, 2026 — hai.stanford.edu
  3. Stanford HAI, The 2026 AI Index Report, Chapter 4: Economy, 2026 — hai.stanford.edu
  4. Jonathan McDowell, Jonathan's Space Report: Orbital launch attempts by country, data updated September 2026 — planet4589.org
  5. Crunchbase News, Global Venture Funding In 2025 Surged As Startup Deals And Valuations Set All-Time Records, 2026 — news.crunchbase.com
  6. WIPO, Patent Cooperation Treaty Yearly Review 2026: Executive Summary, 2026 — wipo.int
  7. Congressional Research Service, Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2026 (R48694), updated April 17, 2026 — congress.gov
  8. National Foundation for American Policy, Immigrants and U.S. Billion-Dollar Companies (policy brief), June 2026 — nfap.com
  9. Semiconductor Industry Association and BCG, America Projected to Triple Semiconductor Manufacturing Capacity by 2032, May 2024 — semiconductors.org
  10. Congressional Research Service, Frequently Asked Questions: CHIPS Act of 2022 Provisions and Implementation (R47523) — congress.gov
  11. Vannevar Bush, Science, the Endless Frontier: A Report to the President, 1945 (US Government Publishing Office) — govinfo.gov
  12. DARPA, About DARPA (mission, history and FY2026 budget) — darpa.mil
  13. Nobel Foundation, The Nobel Prize in Physics 1956 — nobelprize.org
  14. Nobel Foundation, The Nobel Prize in Physics 2000 — nobelprize.org
  15. Nobel Foundation, Press release: The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2023 — nobelprize.org
  16. NASA, Global Positioning System History — nasa.gov
  17. Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, 1903 Wright Flyer — airandspace.si.edu
  18. Penn Engineering, ENIAC: History and Heritage — engineering.upenn.edu
  19. US National Park Service, The Invention Factory: Thomas Edison's Laboratories — nps.gov
  20. Naval History and Heritage Command, Biography of Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper — history.navy.mil
  21. NASA, Katherine Johnson Biography — nasa.gov
  22. OpenAI, Introducing ChatGPT, November 30, 2022 — openai.com
  23. SRI International, ARPANET — sri.com
  24. US Department of Justice, Department of Justice Wins Significant Remedies Against Google, September 2025 — justice.gov
  25. US Citizenship and Immigration Services, H-1B FAQ (Proclamation on the $100,000 payment), updated 2026 — uscis.gov

Democracy

Democracy: A Blueprint Under Test

  1. National Archives, Constitution Q&A — archives.gov
  2. National Archives, The Constitution of the United States: A History — archives.gov
  3. PolitiFact, Goodlatte says US has oldest working national constitution, September 2014 — politifact.com
  4. Library of Congress, Today in History: December 15 (Bill of Rights) — loc.gov
  5. National Archives, The Bill of Rights: What Does it Say? — archives.gov
  6. National Archives, The Constitution: Amendments 11-27 — archives.gov
  7. National Archives, The Emancipation Proclamation — archives.gov
  8. National Archives, Civil Rights Act (1964), Milestone Documents — archives.gov
  9. US Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, History of Federal Voting Rights Laws — justice.gov
  10. David S. Law and Mila Versteeg, The Declining Influence of the United States Constitution, NYU Law Review 87(3), 2012 — nyulawreview.org
  11. United Nations, The San Francisco Conference (1945) — un.org
  12. United Nations, History of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights — un.org
  13. National Endowment for Democracy, History — ned.org
  14. Reporters Without Borders (RSF), 2026 World Press Freedom Index: press freedom at a 25-year low, 2026 — rsf.org
  15. University of Florida Election Lab (Michael McDonald), National VEP Turnout Rates 1789-Present, v1.4 — election.lab.ufl.edu
  16. Economist Intelligence Unit, Democracy Index 2025, April 2026 — eiu.com
  17. Pew Research Center, Multiple indicators show a decline in the health of America's democracy in 2025, April 2026 — pewresearch.org
  18. Pew Research Center, Public Trust in Government: 1958-2025, December 2025 — pewresearch.org
  19. National Security Archive, CIA Confirms Role in 1953 Iran Coup, August 2013 — nsarchive2.gwu.edu
  20. Central Intelligence Agency, CIA Activities in Chile (report to Congress), September 2000 — irp.fas.org
  21. Pew Research Center, Majority of Americans continue to favor moving away from Electoral College, September 2024 — pewresearch.org
  22. OpenSecrets, Total 2024 election spending projected to exceed previous record, October 2024 — opensecrets.org
  23. James Madison's Montpelier, The Life of James Madison — montpelier.org
  24. US Department of State, Office of the Historian, Washington's Farewell Address, 1796 — history.state.gov
  25. National Park Service, Frederick Douglass National Historic Site, Frederick Douglass — nps.gov
  26. National Park Service, Women's Rights National Historical Park, Susan B. Anthony — nps.gov
  27. Nobel Foundation, Martin Luther King Jr., Facts, Nobel Peace Prize 1964 — nobelprize.org
  28. National Archives, Declaration of Independence: A Transcription — archives.gov

Culture

Culture: America's Global Stage

  1. Gower Street Analytics, Highest grossing December since 2019 adds $3.5bn for $33.6bn global total in 2025, January 2026 — gower.st
  2. The Numbers (Nash Information Services), Top-grossing worldwide movies released in 2025, accessed September 2026 — the-numbers.com
  3. Variety, Netflix tops 325 million subscribers (Q4 2025 earnings), January 2026 — variety.com
  4. Fortune, Sony sold Netflix the rights to 'KPop Demon Hunters', August 2025 — fortune.com
  5. Library of Congress, Now See Hear!: The first jazz recording, one hundred years later, 2017 — blogs.loc.gov
  6. PBS, History Detectives: Birthplace of hip hop (1520 Sedgwick Avenue) — pbs.org
  7. IFPI, Taylor Swift named IFPI's Official Biggest-Selling Global Artist of the Year for a sixth time, February 2026 — ifpi.org
  8. Louis Armstrong House Museum, Global Ambassadors — louisarmstronghouse.org
  9. Recording Academy (GRAMMY.com), Remembering Ella Fitzgerald: 7 notable firsts — grammy.com
  10. All-time Olympic Games medal table (compiled from IOC results), current through the 2026 Winter Olympics — en.wikipedia.org
  11. NBA Communications, NBA rosters feature record 135 international players from record-tying 43 countries, October 2025 — pr.nba.com
  12. National Baseball Hall of Fame, April 15, 1997: Jackie Robinson's number retired throughout baseball — baseballhall.org
  13. National Park Service, Grant and Yellowstone — nps.gov
  14. National Park Service, News release: 2025 visitation statistics, March 2026 — nps.gov
  15. National Park Service, Statistical Abstract 2024 — irma.nps.gov
  16. Nobel Prize Outreach, All Nobel Prizes in Literature — nobelprize.org
  17. Center for Mark Twain Studies, Mark Twain's modernism — marktwainstudies.com
  18. Entertainment Software Association, 2026 Essential Facts About the U.S. Video Game Industry — theesa.com
  19. Meta Platforms, Meta reports second quarter 2026 results, July 2026 — investor.atmeta.com
  20. Institute of International Education, Project Atlas 2025 release: Global mobility trends — iie.org
  21. Brand Finance, Global Soft Power Index 2026: executive summary, January 2026 — brandfinance.com
  22. Pew Research Center, People in many countries now view China more positively than the U.S., July 2026 — pewresearch.org
  23. Korean Film Council (KOFIC), South Korean screen quota halved, 2006 — koreanfilm.or.kr
  24. Arcom (French audiovisual regulator), Television quotas — arcom.fr
  25. Harvard Kennedy School, Joseph Nye, developer of 'soft power' theory, dies at 88, May 2025 — hks.harvard.edu

Science

Science: Discovery and Its Debates

  1. Nobel Prize Outreach, Nobel Prize API v2.1: laureates, prizes and affiliations, 1901–2025 (accessed September 2026) — api.nobelprize.org
  2. Congressional Research Service, National Institutes of Health (NIH) Funding: FY1996–FY2026 (R43341), updated May 18, 2026 — congress.gov
  3. National Institutes of Health, New to NIH (Grants & Funding), 2026 — grants.nih.gov
  4. National Science Board / NCSES, The State of U.S. Science and Engineering 2026 (Science and Engineering Indicators) — ncses.nsf.gov
  5. Nature Portfolio, Nature Index 2026 Research Leaders press release, June 2026 — natureasia.com
  6. World Health Organization, Poliomyelitis fact sheet — who.int
  7. CDC, Pink Book: Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases, Chapter 18: Poliomyelitis — cdc.gov
  8. History of Vaccines (College of Physicians of Philadelphia), Vaccine Patents, Then and Now — historyofvaccines.org
  9. Watson O. J. et al., Global impact of the first year of COVID-19 vaccination: a mathematical modelling study, The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 2022 — thelancet.com
  10. National Human Genome Research Institute, Human Genome Project Fact Sheet — genome.gov
  11. US Food and Drug Administration, FDA Approves First Gene Therapies to Treat Patients with Sickle Cell Disease, December 8, 2023 — fda.gov
  12. NASA Science, Moon Exploration — science.nasa.gov
  13. NASA, James Webb Space Telescope: Launch — jwst.nasa.gov
  14. NASA Science, The History of Hubble — science.nasa.gov
  15. NASA, International Space Station: 25 Years of Continuous Human Presence, 2025 — nasa.gov
  16. KFF, The Trump Administration's Foreign Aid Review: Status of PEPFAR, 2026 — kff.org
  17. NobelPrize.org, Norman Borlaug: Biographical (Nobel Peace Prize 1970) — nobelprize.org
  18. US Geological Survey, Fifty Years of Landsat: Sharing Earth Information for the Benefit of All, 2022 — usgs.gov
  19. Congressional Research Service, NOAA FY2026 Budget Request and Appropriations (IF13024), updated March 12, 2026 — congress.gov
  20. CDC National Center for Health Statistics, Mortality in the United States, 2024 (Data Brief No. 548), January 2026 — cdc.gov
  21. OECD, Health at a Glance 2025: Life expectancy at birth, November 2025 — oecd.org
  22. RAND Corporation, International Prescription Drug Price Comparisons: Estimates Using 2022 Data, February 2024 — rand.org
  23. Liu M. et al., Characterization of Research Grant Terminations at the National Institutes of Health, JAMA, 2025 — jamanetwork.com
  24. CDC, About the Untreated Syphilis Study at Tuskegee — cdc.gov
  25. Pew Research Center, Americans' Confidence in Scientists, January 15, 2026 — pewresearch.org

Photographs

Photo credits

Most photographs are US federal government works, which are in the public domain. The rest are published under Creative Commons licences and credited to their authors below.

SubjectAuthorLicenceSource
The Grand Canyon seen from Mather Point, South Rim (National Park Service) Michael Quinn (National Park Service) Public domain View original
Broadway theatres at Times Square at night, with the Minskoff Theatre marquee Suicasmo CC BY-SA 4.0 View original
Crowds watch Game 3 of the 1913 World Series at the Polo Grounds, New York Bain News Service, publisher Public domain View original
The Hollywood Sign in the hills above Los Angeles Thomas Wolf, www.foto-tw.de CC BY-SA 3.0 View original
Page one of the original US Constitution (1787), National Archives Constitutional Convention Public domain View original
The US Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C. Jarek Tuszyński CC BY-SA 3.0 View original
Crowds along the Reflecting Pool during the March on Washington, 28 August 1963 Unknown author Public domain View original
Independence Hall, Philadelphia, where the Declaration and Constitution were signed Mys 721tx CC BY-SA 3.0 View original
Aerial view of the container terminals of the Port of Long Beach, California Don Ramey Logan CC BY-SA 4.0 View original
The Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve Board Building, Washington, D.C. Federalreserve Public domain View original
A combine harvester cuts wheat on an Indiana farm (USDA NRCS, 2021) USDAgov Public domain View original
The Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, seen from Marshall's Beach Frank Schulenburg CC BY-SA 4.0 View original
Times Square, New York City, at night chensiyuan CC BY-SA 4.0 View original
West Front of the US Capitol at dawn USCapitol Public domain View original
Lower Manhattan skyline seen across the Hudson River King of Hearts CC BY-SA 4.0 View original
Aerial view of the Statue of Liberty with the Manhattan skyline at dusk SebastianBlumeArt CC BY-SA 4.0 View original
SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket launch at night, Kennedy Space Center Joel Kowsky Public domain View original
Close-up of the face of the Statue of Liberty Danilo Milhome CC BY-SA 4.0 View original
James Webb Space Telescope image of the Cosmic Cliffs in the Carina Nebula NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI Public domain View original
Aerial view of the USS Gerald R. Ford and USS Dwight D. Eisenhower carrier strike groups in the Mediterranean Sea (2023) U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Janae Chambers Public domain View original
The United States at night from space (NASA Suomi NPP, 2012) NASA Earth Observatory Public domain View original
John Trumbull's painting Declaration of Independence (1819) John Trumbull Public domain View original
The ENIAC computer at the University of Pennsylvania, with operators (US Army photo, c. 1947) Unidentified U.S. Army photographer Public domain View original
The Wright Flyer's first powered flight at Kitty Hawk, 17 December 1903, photographed by John T. Daniels John T. Daniels Public domain View original
SpaceX Falcon 9 launch of SES-10, the first reflight of an orbital-class booster (2017) SpaceX CC0 View original
The Frontier exascale supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee Oak Ridge National Laboratory CC BY 2.0 View original
Susan B. Anthony, Bain News Service photograph Bain Public domain View original
Norman Borlaug in 2004 (USAID photo) Ben Zinner, USAID Public domain View original
Andrew Carnegie, 1913, photographed by Theodore C. Marceau Theodore C. Marceau Public domain View original
Frederick Douglass, c. 1879, photographed by George Kendall Warren George Kendall Warren Public domain View original
Thomas Edison, c. 1922, Bachrach Studios Louis Bachrach, Bachrach Studios, restored by Michel Vuijlsteke Public domain View original
Dwight D. Eisenhower, official White House portrait, 1959 White House Public domain View original
Ella Fitzgerald, c. 1946, photographed by William P. Gottlieb William P. Gottlieb Public domain View original
Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1944 color portrait by Leon Perskie Leon Perskie CC BY 2.0 View original
Henry Ford, c. 1919, photographed by Fred Hartsook Hartsook, photographer Public domain View original
Alexander Hamilton, portrait by John Trumbull (1806) John Trumbull Public domain View original
Commodore Grace M. Hopper, US Navy, 1984 James S. Davis Public domain View original
Katherine Johnson at her desk at NASA Langley Research Center, 1966 NASA Langley Research Center (restoration by Adam Cuerden) Public domain View original
Abraham Lincoln, photographed by Alexander Gardner, 1863 Alexander Gardner Public domain View original
Louis Armstrong, 1953, New York World-Telegram photo New York World-Telegram and the Sun staff photographer: Hiller, Herman, photographer. Public domain View original
James Madison, portrait by Gilbert Stuart, c. 1821 Gilbert Stuart CC0 View original
General George C. Marshall, US Army Chief of Staff Unknown author (Library of Congress) Public domain View original
Barbara McClintock in her laboratory, 1947 Smithsonian Institution/Science Service; Restored by Adam Cuerden Public domain View original
Martin Luther King Jr., 1964, photographed by Dick DeMarsico Dick DeMarsico Public domain View original
Neil Armstrong, NASA portrait, 1969 NASA Public domain View original
Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, 1942 USN Public domain View original
Colin Powell, official Secretary of State portrait Department of State of the United States of America Public domain View original
Jackie Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodgers, 1954 Photo by Bob Sandberg, Look photographer Restoration by Adam Cuerden Public domain View original
Dr. Jonas Salk, developer of the first successful polio vaccine SAS Scandinavian Airlines Public domain View original
Mark Twain, photographed by A.F. Bradley, 1907 A.F. Bradley (Library of Congress) Public domain View original
George Washington, portrait by Gilbert Stuart Gilbert Stuart Public domain View original
Orville Wright, 1905 Orville Wright and Wilbur Wright (credited as photographers) [1], [2] Public domain View original
Buzz Aldrin on the Moon during Apollo 11, photographed by Neil Armstrong, July 1969 Neil Armstrong Public domain View original
The Pillars of Creation in the Eagle Nebula, imaged by the James Webb Space Telescope (NIRCam) NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI; image processing Joseph DePasquale, Anton M. Koekemoer, Alyssa Pagan (STScI) Public domain View original
A CDC microbiologist works with influenza virus samples inside a biosafety cabinet James Gathany, CDC Public domain View original
The International Space Station photographed from a departing Soyuz spacecraft, October 2018 NASA/Roscosmos Public domain View original
Relief workers carry humanitarian supplies delivered by a US Navy helicopter during Operation Tomodachi, Japan, 2011 U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Dylan McCord Public domain View original
NATO and partner-nation ships sail in formation at the start of exercise BALTOPS 2015 in the Baltic Sea U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communications Specialist 3rd Class Timothy M. Ahearn Public domain View original
Artist's rendering of a GPS Block IIIA navigation satellite in orbit (US Air Force) U.S. Air Force Public domain View original
Aerial view of the Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia U.S. Navy photo Public domain View original