The United States is just now the oldest country in the world, there always is an oldest country and she is it, it is she who is the mother of the twentieth century civilization. She began to feel herself as it just after the Civil War. And so it is a country the right age to have been born in and the wrong age to live in.

Summary

This quote highlights the unique historical position of the United States, asserting that it is currently the oldest country in the world and the mother of modern civilization. It suggests that the country came into its own sense of identity after the Civil War and, although it is an appropriate birthplace for the twentieth century, the timing made it an unfavorable era to actually live in.

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