Is America reinventing itself, again?

One perspective

Excerpt: "Americans have gone through three historic junctures like what we’re witnessing today — and they happen on an uncanny 80-year cycle.”

The piece detailed the striking parallels between each of the previous reinventions, which are reflected in the above graphic using the images of recognizable presidents:

• 1785: The explosion of great progress that came off what the founders did around the Constitutional Convention.

  
  

• 1865: The similar explosion of progress following the resolution of the Civil War 80 years later.

  
  

• 1945: The era of great progress that began after the end of World War II and ran through the post-war boom.

  
  

The essay went over this past history to give us new insights into the fourth reinvention of America, which is happening right now in what I call The Great Progression: 2025 to 2050. (Just to be clear, the famous face that will mark our era has yet to be determined, but it will not be Donald Trump — read last week’s essay to understand why.)

Why every 80 years? That is the question that readers kept pondering in the comments of that story. I honestly tried to figure out a way to weave the reasons into that piece, but explaining 250 years of American history was enough for one 3,000 word essay designed to be read on your phone.

The truth is that I will need this entire essay to explain what I think is behind this uncanny 80-year cycle. And to give credit where credit is due, I will draw off the work of the pioneers in three separate fields who have influenced my thinking, several of whom I have met and interviewed in person, too."