Warning: New Nation Could Self-Destruct! What's the main idea in this paragraph? What are the chances that thirteen fiercely independent states could band together strongly enough to become the most powerful nation in the world in less than two hundred years? A strong nation needs stable finances, effective self-defense, and a peaceful political system. But when the first president of the United States took office, America had major money problems, no effective military, and a brand new political system nobody had ever tried before. As if that weren’t enough, many Americans actually feared the United States becoming a strong nation. They’d just won their freedom from an abusive government and didn’t want to go through that again!