The Observation of US Economy Essay Example

The United States economy is the largest in the world with a gross domestic product around twenty trillion. It wasn’t always like this though, in 2007-2008 the US went through a terrible recession and since then the growth rate has raised at almost a 2.5% rate. The economy has grown tremendously in the past couple of years and it is said to keep going up. There is many reasons that the United States economy is the world’s best. There are many physical factors that affect the economy like the size of the US, the rivers/water resources, mountains, oil etc. The physical geography has positively boosted the economic factors such as trade, natural resources, and transportation. 

There are many factors that make the US economically strong, but one of the biggest reasons is because of trade. For example in document 2 Walter LaFeber states that, “The Louisiana area if annexed would be 825,000 square miles that give the new nation access to one of the world’s richest trading areas. ” The Louisiana area is a great trading area because of some of the physical features like the Rocky mountains, the Mississippi river, the Gulf of Mexico access and etc. This area has rich soils that helps grow crops to sell and make the economy higher. The United States has many other rich trading areas that benefit the economy. The Louisiana territory has now become one of the United States top exporters and is helping boost the economy tremendously.

Another example of how trade has impacted the economy positively is in document 2 it states, “hundreds of thousands of Americans settled along the river depended on the the port of New Orleans for access to both world markets and imported staples for everyday living.” For the people living down by the Mississippi, it is everything to them because it is a rich area of imports from other countries. Since this area was so close to good natural ports, they could trade with other countries and give the people items for life. The US has many physical features like ports so we can have easy access to trade with other countries. This contributes to making the US have the greatest economy. 

Though trade is very important to the economy, it is not the only thing that has made the US economy so strong. Another one of the biggest factors in the economy is the abundant natural resources. For example, as shown in document 5 many of the 50 states are supplied with many natural resources such as gold, oil, copper, coal, iron, timber, etc. Having many natural resources is very important to an economy in a country so you have things to trade with, and so you won’t have to import a lot from other countries. One geographic plus about the US is the size and all the different climates in different areas that can produce a variety of natural resources. Some types of land and climate can provide different things that other countries might need.

An additional example is in document 9 by Robert J. Samuelson it says, “Oil production in the Gulf of Mexico accounts for nearly 30% of the US total oil production along with 20% of all natural gas production.” The Gulf Coast is very important to the economy of the United States because of how much natural resources are produced there. The reason the Gulf of Mexico is so successful in production of resources is because of the physical geography. They have abundant and rich rocks and a great climate that helps with the making of oil. The United states certainly would not have the economy it does today without the abundance of natural resources. 

The final reason that the US economy is benefitted is because of how great the transportation is. One example is in document 4a and 4b where it is shown how much transportation has changed over time and how easy it is to get from one place to another.

It used to take a long time to get around different places in the United States or to other countries, but now it can take little to no time. There are many ways for us to get around now like cars, planes, boats, bikes and more but in the 1800’s they didn’t have this. The physical geography like rivers, flat land, and oceans help us make things like railroads, canals, and ocean routes. This helps the economy for things like helping export items and for tourism.

The last example of how transportation helps the US economy is in document 4a it states, “They saw the channels of many rivers widened and deepened, thousands of miles of railroad lines threading their way across the country from the Atlantic coast toward the Mississippi river.” In the early 1800’s when the economy wasn’t as strong, the transportation was nothing like it is today. The people witnessed a transportation revolution that has helped bring the economy up. It is so easy to travel across the country or to other countries. This is a wonderful thing because people can communicate better and things can be shipped easier. The transportation of the United States has brought many new ways to the country and has definitely played a role in the economy.

The United States has become the top country for the best economy because of many things. The US has grown so much in the past years and it is going to get better and better. Physical geography has played a huge role in everything that helps the economics and is why the economy is where it is today. The physical geography has positively boosted the economic factors such as trade, natural resources, and transportation.