In the twenty first century, America passed a crossroads.  Some people call it the Second Revolution.  Others say it was the Second Civil War.  Historians call it the Second Great Depression.  Whatever you call it, the United States of America that came out of it had a more efficient economy, and a government with fewer powers to interfere in it, that set the stage for three centuries of unabated American growth.  It was difficult but it made us better.