3 factors by america palce at world economy leading edge

3 factors have taken pride of place in explanations of America's place at the world economy's leading edge in its level of technology during the 20th century:

• First the U.S. had an exceptional commitment to education: to schooling everyone (everyone who was white; and boys more than girls) even in largely-rural economy of the 19th century and to making the achievement of a high-school diploma rule rather than exception in the cities of early 20th.
• Second, U.S. was of extraordinarily large size--the largest market in world. So the U.S. could take benefit of potential economies of scale in ways that other smaller economies couldn't match.
• Third, U.S. was extraordinarily rich in natural resources specifically energy. To the extent that energy and natural-resource intensive industries were at the heart of early 20th century industrial growth, U.S. was again well-positioned.