How do natural resources affect the economics of the US?

A good term to use here is "guns or butter"

A country that has no resources may decided to produce military goods(guns) and a country that has a lot of resources and is not presently threatened by any foreign power may decide to produce consumer goods(butter).

Not all countries that don't have a lot of resources produce military goods. Countries like Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, and Taiwan are perfect examples of that. They chose to become reliant in producing wants rather than needs, like electronics and petroleum products. Countries like Singapore and Hong Kong are examples of successful countries that reply on international trade. The only resources they have are capital(any human-made good used to produce other goods and services) and labor(any effort a person puts forth to produce good and services).

Source: My brain

I hope I helped. :)