AMERICA 



Second, America's Environment. At the start, let it be said 

 that nearly all the achievements of history which occupy an 

 important place in world annals have taken place in the 

 temperate zone, and of all nations the United States possesses 

 the most favorable location in the temperate zone for the 

 development of a great civilization. Gladstone once said that 

 " America has a natural base for the greatest continuous empire 

 ever established by mankind." The strategic position of 

 America is indicated by the following facts : " The United 

 States faces the two great oceans; so does Canada; but with 

 that exception there is no other commanding nation that has 

 a great coast-line on both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. 

 With many miles of coast-line on the East, America looks 

 forward toward the history-making nations of the past. 

 Westward she faces the sea upon which look out the eyes of 

 one-half the human race, where life is all athrob with the new 

 awakening." The eight great nations that have been con- 

 spicuous in world achievements during the past century are 

 Great Britain, Germany, the United States, France, Italy, 

 Austria-Hungary, Russia and Japan. The coast line of the 

 United States is almost equal to that of the other seven 

 nations combined. " The United States is the nearest com- 

 manding power to the undeveloped parts of the world. The 

 great undeveloped regions are the Canadian Northwest, 

 Alaska, Siberia, Australia, South America, Africa." Besides, 

 the completion of the Panama Canal has added amazingly to 

 the great preponderance already possessed. " The United 

 States has many great harbors. Not one of the nations of 

 Europe has more than two or three great harbors; several of 

 them have none. Russia is too far north. Germany is at a 

 disadvantage because she has no direct access to the Atlantic. 

 Great Britain commands that ocean. The United States has 

 several harbors on the east coast, the Gulf of Mexico on the 

 south, while on the west coast there are two of the most 

 important harbors in the Western Hemisphere opening into 

 the Pacific Ocean San Francisco Bay, where come and go 

 the navies of the world, and Puget Sound, the Mediterranean 



