Abstract:

 The United States, as a latecomer among the world powers, exerted a great deal of effort in its communications with the domestic and international public in order to secure their understanding, trust, and support. In the realm of world' s fairs alone, it hosted twelve, nearly 30% of the world' s total, and more than any other country in the world. The lessons drawn from the successes and failures amongst these multiple experiences are worthy of consideration by developing countries that are currently emerging peacefully as world powers. This essay chooses a crucial turning point in the rise of a superpower, specifically analyzing America' s 1904 St. Louis World' s Fair in the contemporary view. It proposes that this world exposition met the multifaceted needs of an emerging power by strengthening internal solidarity and tolerance and improving international familiarity and sympathy, building on a foundation of the protection of national interests and the promotion of a modern lifestyle. Its target audience was the domestic and international public who shared the middle class dream, expressed in humane characteristics such as sincerity, humility, friendliness, and tolerance. The substance of the exhibitions emphasized innovations in lifestyle, raising the level of modern refinement, and promoting orderly interaction between humans and society. Despite its flaws, on the whole, the St. Louis exposition survives as a milestone marking a particular stage of history. The experiences of the St. Louis exposition alert us to the fact that we should take a second look at colonialism, that it is best in the long term to maintain a modest profile, and that the cultural goal of the World Expo should be mutual appreciation of different moral and aesthetic values. Humankind is overcoming the limits of cultural chauvinism and cultural relativism and moving toward multiculturalism. In the course of the competition for innovation, reciprocal exchange, and the pursuit of excellence, we should seize the chance to meet the challenge and attain a new kind of multidimensional progress.