Now, at the dawn of a new millennium, nearly two-thirds of the world's population lives in a democracy thanks to often bloody struggles to overthrow 25 monarchies and empires. Most people now live in or near a major city. The majority can read and write, have access to telecommunication technologies and enjoy a global life expectancy at least 22 years longer than that of their grandparents. But the price paid for these advances was staggering. The 50 million who died during World War II made that six-year struggle the bloodiest in history.
Historians do agree, however, that no other century suffered more sheer slaughter.
The century would provide even more stark opportunities to prove America's greatness. But the rise to undisputed superpower status was a roller coaster trip that often challenged our national optimism. The Great Depression that followed was both awful and global in its political consequences. Mankind has grown strong in eternal struggles and it will only perish through eternal peace. A sophisticated nation like Germany might normally have ignored such ravings, but years of economic suffering produced a national desperation that Hitler seized.