What did it mean to be an American in the 20th Century? What did it mean to be an American from a global persp

For most of the 20th Century, Americans were viewed as pretty lucky by other nations. Sure, the Communist states hated Americans (e.g. Russia and the Cold War) and the Middle East first began their suspicions during this time (Gulf War, Israel issue) but in general, America led the way in how people in the West wanted to live. There wasn't as much resentment/dislike as there is now, although France was pretty suspicious (e.g. Charles de Gaulle's reluctance to allow the UK into the EEC during the 60s because he thought that would give America a pathway to negatively influence Europe). I wish I could give you more info but all I can say is America was massively influential (music, fashion, technology, e.g. moon landings etc), although whether it was more or less influential than now is hard to say. Hope I helped a little. =)

A lot happened in the 20th century and I'm most positive I don't have to tell you what.

But I need clarity, because being an american required different things in different time periods.