ANGLO-AMERICAN RELATIONS

'Anglo-American relations' are used to describe the relations of the United Kingdom and the United States of America.

History

Origins

The British established two dozen colonies in the New World. The Thirteen Colonies had limited self government. Prefaced by the French and Indian War, tensions escalated from 1765 to 1775 over issues of taxation and control, leading to the American Revolution. The Declaration of Independence of 1776 was a internally controversial decisive break. British military efforts to defeat the Americans, French and Spanish failed, and independence was recognized in 1783. When Britain and France went to war again in 1793, relations verged on war. The two countries signed the Jay Treaty in 1794 which established a decade of peace and prosperous trade relations. That broke down in 1805.^[1]

War of 1812

After 1805 relations were on the verge of war, with the Americans imposing trade embargoes such as the Embargo Act of 1807, and the British, with the vast Royal Navy, boarding American ships and impressing (forcing into royal navy service) sailors. The War of 1812 was initiated by the United States under President James Madison with hopes of 'invading' Canada, however the American invaders were pushed back after using poor strategy. In 1814 the British raided Washington and burned the "Presidential Mansion", which later became famously known for its singe-mark cover all paint job as the White House. After Napoleon was defeated there were no further causes for war, and a compromise, the Treaty of Ghent, ended the war.

Disputes 1815-1860

The international slave trade had largely ended after Britain passed the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act in 1807, and the United States passed a similar law in 1808. All slaves in the British Empire were emancipated in 1833, with compensation to the slave owners. The Monroe Doctrine of 1823 had expressed American hostility to European colonialism, but had British approval. After the Panic of 1837 numerous American states defaulted on their bonds owned by British investors. In 1837 after a failed rebellion in Canada, rebels fled to New York and used a small American ship the ''Caroline'' to smuggle supplies into Canada. In late 1837 Canadian militia burned the ship leading to diplomatic protests, popular anglophobia and additional incidents. Additional conflicts on the Maine border involved rival teams of lumberjacks in the "Aroostook War." The Webster-Ashburton treaty of 1842 resolved these issues and finalized the New Brunswick/Maine border.^[2]

American Civil War

In the American Civil War, the Confederate States of America assumed that the British would prove sympathetic despite their opposition to slavery. Though their first attempt to provoke British intervention by using an embargo of cotton exports was a failure, the Trent Affair, when a US ship stopped a UK ship and took off two Confederate diplomats, almost provoked a third war between the U.S. and Britain but Abraham Lincoln was against fighting on two fronts and Secretary of State William H. Seward was able to smooth matters over. Despite intense American protests, the British allowed the CSS Alabama to leave port as a commerce raider. After the war, Britain abided by the arbitration of an international tribunal and paid compensation to the United States for the activities of the Alabama as part of the Treaty of Washington (1871).^[3]

Venezuelan and Canadian border disputes

In 1895, President Cleveland intervened in a dispute over the border between British Guiana and Venezuela by demanding arbitration, which was agreed to and resolved by arbitration. Disputes over the Alaska-Canada border were resolved by arbitration in 1903, as the British judge sided with the Americans against the Canadians. The Canadians were outraged to be sacrificed for the benefit of British-American harmony. ^[4]

World War I

After the Spanish-American War of 1898, the U.S. acquired overseas territories and had begun to build a fleet to go with it. At the beginning of World War I, both Britain and Germany engaged in propaganda campaigns designed to win over the United States. The British were able to guarantee a price for American cotton producers, who were the most affected by the loss of trade with Germany and Central Europe. The anglophile President Wilson then opted to allow the munitions trade to continue, despite disputes over freedom of the seas because of the British blockade of Germany and complaints of a 'navalism' like German 'militarism'. This policy meant that the United States would supply only the Entente powers. When Germany responded with a submarine blockade of Britain, the sinking of the ''RMS Lusitania'' by a German U-boat led to a protest by the United States and a strong swing in public opinion against Germany.
Germany returned to unrestricted submarine warfare in January 1917 in the belief that Britain would be decisively weakened before the U.S. could mobilize, but the U.S. declared war on Germany. The United States joined the Allies, and sent hundreds of thousands of troops (though initially slowly) to the Western front and were instrumental in bringing about the end of the war.
Though Wilson had wanted to wage war for cause of humanity the negotiations over the Treaty of Versailles made plain that his diplomatic position had weakened with victory. The borders of Europe were redrawn on the basis of national self-determination, with the exception of Germany. Heavy financial reparations were imposed on Germany, at the protest of the Americans, because of the French desire for a punitive peace. ^[2]

Inter-war years

The Great War was the end of the Royal Navy's superiority, an eclipse acknowledged in the Washington Naval Treaty, when the United States and Britain were allocated equal tonnage quotas. United States policies on immigration and trade fostered a Pacific rivalry with Japan rather than an Atlantic rivalry, though during the Great Depression the U.S. was preoccupied with its own economic recovery and was only sporadically active in foreign affairs, an isolationist policy. After the Americans imposed a high Smoot-Hawley tariff in 1930, Britain, Canada and the Empire built up imperial trade preferences, thereby diverting trade internally and away from the U.S. Britain, engaged in appeasement of Nazi Germany whilst pursuing limited rearmament. The Abdication Crisis, while absorbing popular interest in both countries, did not become a foreign relations issue, with Mrs. Simpson seen as being rejected as unsuitable for religious reasons rather than as an American. Tensions over the Irish question declined with the independence of Éire, and with the successful ambassadorship of Joseph P. Kennedy in the late 1930s.^[6]

World War II

Though the American public was strongly sympathetic to Britain and France, there was popular demand for neutrality. Roosevelt's cash-and-carry policy allowed Britain and France to order munitions from the U.S. Churchill, whose mother was American, had become prime minister after the failure to prevent the German invasion of Norway, and after the fall of France, Roosevelt gave Britain all aid short of war, including the 1940 Destroyers for Bases Agreement and Lend-lease. Before Pearl Harbor and the German declaration of war, two US Navy destroyers had already been torpedoed on convoy duties in the North Atlantic. The United States then became heavily involved in the war in Europe. It was during this period of extremely close co-operation that the special relationship was created.^[7] The large numbers of American servicemen based in Britain led to some friction and to this relationship being explored in art and film (most particularly ''A Matter of Life and Death'' and ''A Canterbury Tale''). Roosevelt put heavy pressure on Britain to dissolve its Empire, which (due to post-war economic exhaustion and other factors, rather than US pressure alone) took place in the 1947-1960 period.

Cold War

At the end of World War II, the U.S. and Britain became two of the founding members of the United Nations, as well as two of the five permanent members of the Security Council. They were suspicious of the motives of their former ally, the Soviet Union, under Stalin. Rising tensions between the capitalist and communist powers led to the Cold War and an era of close cooperation between the U.S. and Britain which included the formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a mutual-defense alliance. As the British Empire dissolved throughout the world, the United States became one of two world superpowers along with the Soviet Union, while Britain became the most important partner with the United States on the Western side of the Cold War. Forces from both countries were involved in the Korean War, fighting under United Nations command. The United States had become the leading world power and pursued a mixed anti-colonial anti-communist policy, refusing to support the French attempt to retain Indochina and demanding Britain and France end their invasion of Egypt in 1956 during the Suez Crisis. As the Americans concentrated on their technological rivalry with the Soviets and waged an unpopular proxy war in Vietnam, Anti-Americanism became a factor in Europe, which partially reached Britain due to Suez and Vietnam. However, Harold Wilson refused to send British troops to Vietnam. Protests against the introduction of medium-range weapons which might allow a nuclear war to be confined to Europe became a feature of British politics in the eighties, but the British government supported Washington and the missiles were sent. ^[8]
In the 1982 Falklands War, Washington initially tried to mediate between Britain and Argentina, but ultimately supported the United Kingdom's counter-invasion. The US Defense department under Casper Weinberger supplied the UK Army with needed equipment.^[9]
In October 1983 the United States and a coalition of Caribbean nations undertook Operation Urgent Fury, the invasion of Grenada. Grenada had seen a bloody coup overthrow its Marxist regime and neighboring countries asked Reagan to intervene, which he did despite the protests from Thatcher.
Throughout the 1980s Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was strongly supportive of President Reagan's stance towards the Soviet Union. During the Soviet war in Afghanistan, both the Americans and the British provided arms to the anti-SU Mujahadeen rebels in Afghanistan. Both Reagan and Thatcher met with SU leader Mikhail Gorbachev on separate occasions.

Post Cold War

Both the United States and Britain provided forces for the coalition army which liberated Kuwait in the Persian Gulf War. The British Labour Party were elected to office in 1997 for the first time in eighteen years. Blair used Clinton's expression 'Third Way' to describe the ideology of his own party. Forces from both countries were again used to impose a peace during the Kosovo War.^[8]

War on Terror

Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, in which a number of British citizens were also killed, there was an enormous outpouring of sympathy from Britain for the U.S., and Blair became President George W. Bush's strongest international supporter. The United States declared a War on Terror following the attacks. British forces participated in the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan and unlike France, Germany, China and Russia, the United Kingdom supported the United States in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. After the United States, Britain contributed the most troops to the coalition that entered Iraq.^[11]
The 7 July 2005 London bombings emphasised the difference in the nature of the terrorist threat to both nations. The United States concentrated primarily on external enemies, like the al-Qaeda network and other Islamic extremists from the Middle East. The London bombings were carried out by homegrown extremist Muslims, and it emphasised Britain's threat from the radicalization of its own people. By 2007 British support for the Iraq war has radically declined.^[12]
The British International Development Secretary has recently proposed a change in the current relationship between Great Britain and United States. He accentuated on the need for "new alliances, based on common values". He was verbal against "unilateralism" and called for an "international" and a "multilaterist" approach to global problems. Correspondents who were present while the speech was delivered reckoned it to be a "coded criticism" of the policies of President Bush. Incidentally, the speech came as the Democratic-controlled U.S. Congress voted in favour pulling out most of the combat troops out of Iraq.^[13]

Culture

Because the 13 states that founded the United States began as colonies of the United Kingdom, the two nations retain significant shared threads of cultural heritage, many of which are common to all Anglosphere countries.
English is the de-facto language of both nations, and as such the United States and the United Kingdom share not only the language itself, but the entire heritage of English literature, philosophy, poetry, and theatre. Both peoples are historically Christian, although increasingly secular and diverse in the modern era. Both legal systems are based on the common law.
There is much crossover appeal in the modern entertainment culture of the United States and the United Kingdom. For example, Hollywood movies are popular in the United Kingdom. American singers such as Madonna are popular in the United Kingdom, and British groups such as The Beatles and Rolling Stones are popular in the United States. Much popular literature also crosses over between the oceans, as evidenced by, for example, the appeal of British author J. R. R. Tolkien in the United States and American author Michael Crichton in the United Kingdom.
Both countries' TV shows are similar, as many American and British television series are either carried by the other nations' networks, or are re-created for distribution in their own nations. Examples of popular British television shows that were re-created for the American market are ''The Office'', ''Who Wants to be a Millionaire?'', ''Whose Line is it Anyway?'', ''Pop Idol'' (''American Idol''), and ''Til Death Us Do Part,'' known in the United States as ''All in the Family.'' Some examples of American shows re-created in the United Kingdom are ''The Apprentice'' and ''The Price Is Right''. Popular American shows that are also popular in the United Kingdom include: ''The Simpsons'', ''Friends'', ''The West Wing'', ''Will & Grace'', ''Scrubs'' and the '' series.
The BBC airs two television networks in the US, BBC America and BBC World. Also, the BBC and PBS share many collaborations and rebroadcasts: eg: Monty Python's Flying Circus, Doctor Who, Nova and Masterpiece Theatre, etc.
On some British digital television platforms, it is also possible to watch American channels direct from the USA such as Fox News, as well as American Channels setup for a British audience, such as CNBC Europe, ABC1, NASN, ESPN Classic (UK),Paramount Comedy and FX (UK). The Super Bowl has been aired in the United Kingdom since 1983, and was aired on free television on ITV in 2007. It was also announced that London will be the venue for the first competitive NFL game ever to be played outside North America in October 2007. London was selected based upon several factors, including general fan interest, current NFL visibility through existing media agreements and the range and quality of large, world-class stadia, including Wembley and Twickenham.
British Sunday broadsheet newspapers such as the ''The Observer'', ''The Sunday Telegraph'', and ''The Sunday Times'' (which is owned by Rupert Murdoch) all include a condensed copy of ''The New York Times''. [2]
Budweiser and Coors are widely available in the United Kingdom, with Budweiser launching Bud Silver in 2006.

Bibliography

★ Ephraim Douglass Adams; ''Great Britain and the American Civil War'' 2 vol 1925

★ H. C. Allen; ''Great Britain and the United States: A History of Anglo-American Relations, 1783-1952'' (1954)

★ Burt, Alfred L. ''The United States, Great Britain, and British North America from the Revolution to the Establishment of Peace after the War of 1812''. (1940), detailed history by Canadian scholar; online

★ Charles S. Campbell, ''Anglo-American Understanding 1898-1903'' (1957)

★ John Charmley. ''Churchill's Grand Alliance: The Anglo-American Special Relationship 1940-57'' (1996)

★ Martin Crawford. ''The Anglo-American Crisis of the Mid-Nineteenth Century: The Times and America, 1850-1862'' (1987)

★ Alan P Dobson. ''Anglo-American Relations in the Twentieth Century'' (1995)

★ Jonathan Hollowell; ''Twentieth-Century Anglo-American Relations'' (2001)

★ Christopher Hitchens. ''Blood, Class and Empire: The Enduring Anglo-American Relationship'' (2004)

★ Roger Louis; ''Imperialism at Bay: The United States and the Decolonization of the British Empire, 1941-1945'' (1978)
★ William Roger Louis and Hedley Bull. ''The "Special Relationship": Anglo-American Relations since 1945'' (1987)

★ Bradford Perkins; ''The First Rapprochement: England and the United States, 1795-1805'' (1955)

★ Edwin J Perkins. ''Financing Anglo-American trade: The House of Brown, 1800-1880'' (1975)

★ Shawcross, William. ''Allies: The U.S., Britain, Europe and the War in Iraq'' (2004)

★ Woods, Randall Bennett. ''Changing of the Guard: Anglo-American Relations, 1941-1946'' (1990)

Notes

1. Perkins (1955)
2. Allen (1954)
3. Adams (1925)
4. Campbell, ''Anglo-American Understanding 1898-1903'' (1957), p. 340.
5. Allen (1954)
6. Allen (1954); Hollowell; ''Twentieth-Century Anglo-American Relations'' (2001)
7. Charmley. ''Churchill's Grand Alliance: The Anglo-American Special Relationship 1940-57'' (1996); Hollowell; ''Twentieth-Century Anglo-American Relations'' (2001)
8. Hollowell, ''Twentieth-Century Anglo-American Relations'' (2001)
9. Simon Jenkins, "American Involvement In The Falklands" ''The Economist,'' 3rd March 1984
10. Hollowell, ''Twentieth-Century Anglo-American Relations'' (2001)
11. Shawcross (2004)
12. Sometimes, I pretend I am Canadian
13. UK hints at foreign policy shift

Present status

Present British policy is that the relationship with the United States represents Britain's "most important bilateral relationship"[1].

Economics

The United States and the United Kingdom share the world's largest foreign direct investment partnership. American investment in the United Kingdom reached 5.4 billion in 2002, while British direct investment in the United States totaled 3.3 billion.US Department of State, Background Note on the United Kingdom

External links

★ John Bull and Uncle Sam: Four centuries of British American relations (Library of Congress)

★ An analysis of the Special Relationship from a British perspective. From the Second World War to the latest global problems facing the United States.

★ November 2003, University of Dundee, Lecture: Anti-Americanism and American Exceptionalism

★ , by Goldwin Smith (''The North American review,'' Volume 150, Issue 402, May 1890.)

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