美国是当今世界上科技最先进的国家,但在18、19世纪,从“科学丐帮”起步的美国基础科学研究却非常薄弱,远无法与同期的欧洲相比。在18世纪和19世纪,欧洲兴起的启蒙运动开始挑战基督教教会的思想体系,使科学革命的成果开始扩散到社会的各个层面。在英国皇家学会的影响下,北美出现了一批集科学家、发明家、企业家和政治 The United States is the most technologically advanced country in the world today. However, in the 18th and 19th centuries, basic scientific research in the United States started from the “science beggar” and it was far behind in comparison with that of the same period in Europe. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the rise of the Enlightenment in Europe began to challenge the ideological system of the Christian Church and the result of the scientific revolution began to spread to all levels of society. Under the influence of the Royal Society, a group of scientists, inventors, entrepreneurs and politicians emerged in North America