The economic history of the United States has its roots in European colonization in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. Marginal colonial economies grew into 13 small, independent farming economies, which joined together in 1776 to form the United States of America. In 230 years the United States grew to a huge, integrated, industrialized economy that makes up nearly a quarter of the world economy. The main causes were a large unified market, a supportive political-legal system, vast areas of highly productive farmlands, vast natural resources (especially timber, coal, iron, and oil), and an entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to investing in material and human capital. The economy has maintained high wages, attracting immigrants by the millions from all over the world. Technological and industrial factors played a major role.
Read more about Economic History Of The United States: Pre-colonial, Colonial Era, American Revolution, New Nation, Expansion and Growth, Railroads, Urbanization, Civil War, The Gilded Age: 1865–1900, Progressive Era: 1890–1920, Roaring Twenties: 1920–1929, Great Depression: 1929–1941, Wartime Controls: 1941–1945, Postwar Prosperity: 1945–1973, Inflation Woes: 1970s, Deregulation and Reaganomics: 1976–1992, The Rise of Globalization and A World Superpower: 1990s-late 2000s, Great Recession, Historical Statistics
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—Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924)