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British–American relations encompass many complex relations over the span of four centuries, beginning in 1607 with England's first permanent colony in North America called Jamestown, to the present day, between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America.
The United States is bound to Britain by shared history, a common language and legal system, culture, and kindred, ancestral lines in English Americans, Scottish Americans, and Welsh Americans, which can be traced back hundreds of years.
Through times of war and rebellion, peace and estrangement, as well as becoming friends and allies, Britain and the United States cemented these deeply rooted links during World War II into what is known as the "Special Relationship", still described by a leading commentator as "the key trans-Atlantic alliance",[1] which the U.S. Senate Chair on European Affairs acknowledged in 2010 as "one of the cornerstones of stability around the world."[2]
Today, the relationship with the United States represents the "most important bilateral partnership" in current British foreign policy[3] while United States foreign policy affirms its relationship with the United Kingdom as one of its most important enduring bilateral relationships,[4][5] as evidenced in aligned political affairs, mutual cooperation in the areas of trade, commerce, finance, technology, academics, as well as the arts and sciences; the sharing of government and military intelligence, and joint combat operations and peacekeeping missions carried out between the United States armed forces and the British Armed Forces. Britain has always been the biggest foreign investor in the USA and vice versa.
The United States and the United Kingdom are the largest economies and the most populous nodes of the Anglosphere, with a combined population of over 370 million as of 2010.
After several failed attempts the first permanent English settlement in mainland North America came in 1607 at Jamestown in the Colony and Dominion of Virginia. By 1624, the Colony and Dominion of Virginia would cease as a charter colony administered by the Virginia Company of London as it became a crown colony. The Pilgrims were a small Protestant-sect based in England and Amsterdam; they sent a group of settlers on the Mayflower. After drawing up the Mayflower Compact by which they gave themselves broad powers of self-governance, they established the Plymouth Colony in 1620. In 1630 the Puritans established the much larger Massachusetts Bay Colony; they sought to reform the Church of England by creating a new and more pure church in the New World.
Other colonies followed in Province of Maine (1622), Province of Maryland (1632), Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations (1636) and Connecticut Colony (1636). Later came the founding of Province of Carolina (1663) (divided in 1729 into the Province of North Carolina and the Province of South Carolina). The Province of New Hampshire was founded in 1691. Finally came Province of Georgia in 1732.
The Province of New York was formed from the conquered Dutch colony of New Netherland. In 1674, the Province of New Jersey was split off from New York. In 1681 William Penn was awarded a royal charter in 1681 by King Charles II to found Province of Pennsylvania.
The colonies were operated separately, except for the short-lived Dominion of New England, which failed in 1689.
During the 17th century, an estimated 350,000 English and Welsh migrants arrived as permanent residents in the Thirteen Colonies, which in the century after the Acts of Union 1707, was surpassed in rate and number by Scottish and Irish migrants.[6]
The period of British settler colonization saw the introduction of liberal administrative, juridical, and market institutions positively associated with socioeconomic development.[7] At the same time, colonial policy was also quasi-mercantilist,[7] encouraging trade inside the Empire, and discouraging trade with other powers, and discouraging the rise of manufacturing in the colonies, which had been established to increase the trade and wealth of the mother country. Britain made much greater profits from the sugar trade of its commercial colonies in the Caribbean.
The introduction of coercive labor institutions was another feature of the colonial period.[7] All of the Thirteen Colonies were involved in the slave trade. Slaves in the Middle Colonies and New England Colonies typically worked as house servants, artisans, laborers and craftsmen. Early on, slaves in the Southern Colonies worked primarily in agriculture, on farms and plantations growing indigo, rice, cotton, and tobacco.
The French and Indian War, fought between 1754 and 1763, was the North American theatre of the Seven Years' War. The conflict, the fourth such colonial war between France and the Kingdom of Great Britain in North America, resulted in the British acquisition of New France, with it French Catholic population. As part of the terms dictated in the Treaty of Paris signed in 1763, the French ceded control of French Louisiana east of the Mississippi River to the British, which became known as the Indian Reserve.
The Thirteen Colonies gradually began to experience more limited self-government. Additionally, British mercantilist policies became more stringent, benefiting the mother country which resulted in trade restrictions, thereby limiting the growth of the colonial economy and artificially constraining colonial merchants' earning potential. Prefaced by debt accrued during the French and Indian War of which the American Colonies were expected to help repay, tensions escalated from 1765 to 1775 over issues of taxation without representation and control by King George III. Stemming from the Boston Massacre when British Redcoats opened fire on civilians in 1770, rebellion consumed the outraged colonists. The British Parliament earlier imposed a series of taxes such as the Stamp Act of 1765 and later on, the Tea Act of 1773, of which an angry mob of colonists protested about in the Boston Tea Party by dumping chests of tea into Boston Harbor. The British Parliament responded to the defiance of the colonists by passing what the colonials called the Intolerable Acts in 1774. This course of events ultimately triggered the first shots fired in the Battles of Lexington and Concord in 1775 and effectively, the beginning of the American War of Independence itself. A British victory at the Battle of Bunker Hill in June 1775 would agitate tensions even further. While the goal of attaining independence was sought by a majority known as Patriots, a minority known as Loyalists wished to remain as British subjects indefinitely. However, when the Second Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia in May 1775, deliberations conducted by notable figures such as Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, John Hancock, Samuel Adams, and John Adams would eventually come to the conclusion of seeking full independence from the mother country. Thus, the Declaration of Independence, ratified on July 4, 1776, signed on August 2, 1776, and then sent to King George III for his review, was a radical and decisive break for its time.
Early in the war, British forces were driven back during the Boston campaign by colonial militia, retreating to Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1776. However, the New York and New Jersey campaign as well as the Philadelphia campaign saw numerous British victories at the Battle of Kip's Bay, the Battle of Long Island, the Battle of White Plains, the Battle of Brandywine, and the Battle of Germantown while the Continental Army under the command of George Washington defeated British forces at the Battle of Harlem Heights, the Battle of Princeton, and the Battle of Trenton. In addition, a capture and occupation of New York City and Philadelphia by British forces proved initially successful before they eventually evacuated both cities in 1777 and 1778 respectively. Although British forces were victorious at the Siege of Fort Ticonderoga in 1777, the Saratoga campaign resulted overwhelmingly in favor of the Continental Army under the command of Horatio Gates, most notably at the Battles of Saratoga, and further underlined by the entry of the Kingdom of France in 1778. During the Siege of Savannah in 1779, American and French forces made a failed attempt to retake the city after it was captured by British forces a year earlier. In the Southern theatre, colonial militias largely dominated the Southern Colonies until the Siege of Charleston occurred and British forces took control of the city in 1780. The Battle of Camden and Battle of Guilford Courthouse were tactically decisive for British forces, although future victories came at high cost, as the British Army became more weakened over time with mounting casualties and insufficient manpower. Turning points in the war were during the Battle of King's Mountain in 1780 and the Battle of Cowpens in 1781 when the Continental Army under the command of Daniel Morgan were deemed victorious over Banastre Tarleton's cavalry unit, the 1st King's Dragoon Guards. With limitations placed on successful war tactics, the long-term strategy of military commanders in the British Army such as Thomas Gage, Sir William Howe, Henry Clinton, John Burgoyne, and most notably, Lord Charles Cornwallis, failed to defeat the Continental Army and French. The tipping point came on October 19, 1781 when Lord Cornwallis' subordinate, Charles O'Hara surrendered his sword to George Washington's subordinate, Benjamin Lincoln at the Siege of Yorktown.
In 1783, the original thirteen states which created the independent and sovereign nation, the United States of America, was recognized by the Kingdom of Great Britain in the mutual terms agreed upon by both sides in the Treaty of Paris. In 1785, John Adams was appointed the first American plenipotentiary minister, now known as an ambassador, to the Court of St James's. In 1791, Great Britain sent its first diplomatic envoy, George Hammond, to the United States.
When Great Britain and France went to war in 1793, relations between the United States and Great Britain also verged on war. Tensions were subdued when the Jay Treaty was signed in 1794, which established a decade of peace and prosperous trade relations.[8] The international slave trade was gradually suppressed after Great Britain passed the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act in 1807, and the United States passed a similar law in 1808.
The United States imposed a trade embargo, namely the Embargo Act of 1807, in retaliation for the United Kingdom’s blockade of France, which involved the visit and search of neutral merchantmen, and resulted in the suppression of Franco-United States trade for the duration of the Napoleonic Wars. The Royal Navy also boarded American ships and impressed sailors suspected of being British deserters.[9]
The War of 1812 was initiated by the United States under James Madison partly to protect American trading rights and freedom of the seas for neutral countries. Another motivation was American anger over British military support for Native Americans defending their tribal lands from encroaching American pioneers. Additionally, the United States' ambition for territorial expansion northward and westward was reflected in a belief in Manifest Destiny.[10]
A planned American invasion of British North America, including the destruction of the colonial capital of York and victory at the Battle of York in April 1813, was countered when on August 24, 1814, the burning of Washington saw the United States Treasury Building razed and the White House burned. British forces would again prove victorious on that same day at the Battle of Bladensburg. Some but not all land attacks made by American forces northward into British North America, such as the Battle of the Chateauguay in October 1813 and the Battle of Crysler's Farm in November 1813, were repulsed by British forces. However, American forces also won victories at the Battle of the Thames in October 1813 and the Battle of Longwoods in March 1814. The United States Navy gained naval supremacy over the Great Lakes by defeating the Royal Navy at the Battle of Lake Erie in September 1813 and at the Battle of Plattsburgh in September 1814. Beginning on September 12, 1814, and lasting for another three days, British forces were also repulsed at the Battle of Baltimore.
Negotiations led to the Treaty of Ghent, which ended the war by restoring the status quo ante bellum. No territorial gains were made by either side. The U.S. negotiator Albert Gallatin conceded: "Under the existing unpropitious circumstances of the world, America cannot by a continuance of the war compel Great Britain to yield any of the maritime points in dispute, and particularly to agree to any unsatisfactory arrangement on the subject of impressment; and that the most favorable terms of peace that can be expected are the status ante bellum." The United Kingdom retained the right of impressment and the United States dropped the issue for good.[11]
The impressment controversy had in fact been largely resolved shortly after war had been declared, when the U.S. government, by enacting the Impressment Bill (1812), began to insist that applicants for U.S. citizenship must reside continuously in the United States for a minimum of five years, thereby inhibiting the reception of deserters and removing the source of British complaint, and therefore largely solving, with a stroke of Madison's pen, the problem the United States had ostensibly gone to war over.[12][13][14]
As one of the peace terms, the United Kingdom agreed to return captured slaves, but subsequently paid the United States £350,000 for them. A British proposal to create an Indian buffer zone in Ohio and Michigan collapsed after the Indian coalition fell apart. The United States largely ignored the guarantees it made in article IX regarding American treatment of Native Americans.[15]
Before word could be sent to field commanders that the war was over, a US force under General Andrew Jackson repulsed a British attack at the Battle of New Orleans in January 1815. Shortly afterwards, a US force was defeated at Fort Bowyer by a British force under John Lambert. The War of 1812 marked the end of a long period of conflict between the United Kingdom and the United States, and ushered in a new era of peace between the two nations, who would become allies nearly a century later.
In the words of one American historian of the conflict: "Neither side sought the War of 1812, and in the short run it was tragically unnecessary."[16]
The Monroe Doctrine, a unilateral response in 1823 to a British suggestion of a joint declaration, expressed American hostility of further European encroachment in the Western hemisphere. Nevertheless, the United States benefited from the common outlook in British policy and its enforcement by the Royal Navy.
After the Panic of 1837, numerous states in the United States defaulted on bonds owned by British investors. During the Caroline Affair in 1837, British North American rebels fled to New York and used a small American ship called the Caroline to smuggle supplies into British North America after a failed rebellion there. In late 1837, militia from British North America burned the ship, leading to diplomatic protests, an unquenched sense of Anglophobia, and other incidents.
Additional conflicts on the Maine-New Brunswick border involved rival teams of lumberjacks in the Aroostook War. The Webster-Ashburton Treaty, signed in 1842, resolved these issues and finalized the border.[17] In 1859, the Pig War determined the question of where the border should be in relationship to the San Juan Islands and Gulf Islands.
1859 was also a year of early signs of British-American co-operation when a British naval force under the command of Admiral Sir James Hope attempted to seize the Tako Forts guarding the mouth of the Peiho river in northeastern China. The action was witnessed by American Commodore Josiah Tattnall, who had fought in the War of 1812, and, on this occasion, was supposed to be just a neutral observer. However, he eventually went to the assistance of the British gunboat Plover, offering to take off their wounded. The offer was accepted and the wounded evacuated. Later, Tattnall discovered that some of his men were black from powder flashes. When asked, the men replied that the British had been short-handed with the bow gun. In his famous report sent to Washington soon afterwards, Tattnall claimed that "Blood is thicker than water". Although the British and Americans had fought side-by-side, the action was unofficial — and the Americans were supposed to be neutral observers.
At the beginning of the American Civil War, the United Kingdom issued a proclamation of neutrality on May 13, 1861. Nevertheless, the Confederate States of America assumed that the British would prove sympathetic, despite their negative view on slavery. Although the Confederacy attempted to provoke British intervention through cotton diplomacy, leading to failed threats of a trade embargo on "King Cotton," it was the Trent Affair in 1861, when the USS San Jacinto stopped the British civilian vessel RMS Trent and took off two Confederate diplomats named James Murray Mason and John Slidell, that almost provoked a third war between the United Kingdom and the United States. While diplomatic measures between London and Washington were ongoing, the British under Lord Palmerston began mobilizing a small militia in British North America who were unprepared in the event of a full-scale invasion of up to an estimated 200,000 soldiers in the Union Army.
The United Kingdom knew that any recognition of a sovereign and independent nation called the Confederate States would be an act of war against the United States. In addition, the United Kingdom had to take into consideration that the British economy was heavily reliant on growing trade with the United States, most notably cheap grain imports high in demand which in the event of war, would be cut off by the Americans. Third, the British knew that the United States had an indispensable European ally, the Russian Empire to help fight in a possible war against the United Kingdom . And lastly, British forces in British North America were vastly outnumbered by the Union Army which if British war tactics proved to be unsuccessful, the risk of annexation of British North America by the United States might be inevitable.
The British were content with a formal apology on behalf of the United States so that war could be averted over lingering issues revolving around the Trent Affair. Thus, Abraham Lincoln eventually relented as he did not want to fight a war on two fronts, having United States Secretary of State William H. Seward smooth matters over.
Despite outrage and intense American protests, the United Kingdom allowed the British-built CSS Alabama to leave port as a commerce raider under the naval flag of the Confederacy. After the American Civil War ended in 1865, the United Kingdom abided by the terms of the Treaty of Washington outlined by an arbitration of an international tribunal in 1871, thus paying $15.5 million in gold to the United States for the destruction caused by the CSS Alabama, while admitting no guilt.[18]
When the United Kingdom and Venezuela disputed the boundary between the latter country and British Guiana in 1895, President Grover Cleveland and Secretary of State Richard Olney pressured the British into agreeing to an international arbitration.[19] In 1898, a tribunal convened in Paris to decide the matter in question, and thus issued its verdict in 1899, awarding the bulk of the disputed territory to British Guiana.[20] Despite this setback for the United States, it showed that standing with a Latin American nation against the encroachment of the British Empire improved relations with the United States' southern neighbors. However, the cordial manner in which the negotiations were conducted by the United States also improved diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom.[21]
Ever since the Alaska Purchase in 1867, the United States inherited unresolved border disputes dating all the way back to 1821 over the Alaska Panhandle between what was previously known as Russian Alaska and British North America. However, the Alaska boundary dispute was finally resolved by an arbitration in 1903, agreed upon in the Hay-Herbert Treaty as a British judge sided with the United States and the District of Alaska against their neighbors, the Canadians, who were outraged that land and territorial waters in British Columbia were sacrificed for the benefit of British-American harmony.[22]
The Great Rapprochement is a term that was used to specifically describe the convergence of social and political objectives between the United Kingdom and the United States from 1895 until World War I began in 1914. Ever since the War of 1812 ended in 1815, exactly 80 years prior to when the Great Rapprochement began, relations between the United Kingdom and the United States were continuously and deeply troubled. However, the differences that had separated an industrialized United Kingdom and an agrarian, anti-imperialist United States where Anglophobia ran high, rapidly diminished in the decades preceding World War I.
The most notable sign of improving relations during the Great Rapprochement was the United Kingdom's actions during the Spanish–American War. With the onslaught of war beginning in 1898, the British had an initial policy of supporting the Spanish Empire and its colonial rule over Cuba since the perceived threat of American occupation and a territorial acquisition of Cuba by the United States might harm British trade and commerce interests within its own imperial possessions in the West Indies. However, after the United States made genuine assurances that it would grant Cuba's independence, which eventually occurred in 1902 under the terms dictated in the Platt Amendment, the British abandoned this policy and ultimately sided with the United States unlike most other European powers who supported Spain.[23]
After victory in the Spanish-American War, the United States appeared to have its own rising empire due to its rapid acquisition of numerous overseas colonial possessions and had begun to build the Great White Fleet as a newfound symbol of its enormous power projection and as a blue water navy. Seizing upon this notion, both the United Kingdom and the German Empire engaged in pro-American propaganda campaigns designed to win over a possible World War I alliance with the United States. The British in fact, were able to guarantee a price for American cotton producers, who were the most affected by the potential loss of trade with Germany and Central Europe.
At the beginning of World War I, the unrestricted activities of German agents against British interests, as well as the United States' refusal to check the Indian seditionist movement, was a major concern for the British Government that triggered an intense neutrality dispute through 1916. The British Far-Eastern Fleet's activities, especially the SS China and SS Henry S incidents drew strong responses from the United States, prompting the United States Atlantic Fleet to dispatch naval destroyers and battleships to the Pacific Ocean in order to protect the sovereignty of American vessels. However, this dispute did not calm down before November 1916.[24]
Woodrow Wilson allowed a munitions trade to continue, despite disputes over freedom of the seas because of the British naval blockade of Germany and complaints of German 'militarism'. Thus, the United States would only supply the Triple Entente onwards.
As evidence of German complicity in public incidents, including the Black Tom explosion, and conspiracies in and against the United States such as the Zimmerman Telegram, it became more obvious that American public opinion was becoming more influenced to the prospect of joining World War I. When the German Empire responded in 1916 with a submarine blockade of the United Kingdom and the sinking of the RMS Lusitania by a German U-boat, it led to a protest by the United States and a strong sense of anti-German feelings among the American people.
The German Empire returned to unrestricted submarine warfare in January 1917 in the belief that the United Kingdom would be decisively weakened before the United States could mobilize for war. Nevertheless, the United States declared war on the German Empire, joined the Allies, and sent 1.982 million American servicemen under the command of General John J. Pershing to France out of a total of 4.355 million available.[25] Though initially slow at mobilization of the American Expeditionary Force to the Western front, American doughboys were instrumental in providing heightened morale for the Allies as well as hastening a victorious end to the war in Europe. British and American forces in fact, fought together and side by side at numerous engagements on the Western Front such as the Third Battle of the Aisne from May to June 1918, the Battle of Belleau Wood in June 1918, the Second Battle of the Marne from July to August 1918, the Battle of Amiens in August 1918, the Battle of St. Quentin Canal and the Fifth Battle of Ypres both from September to October 1918, and the Battle of Courtrai in October 1918, all leading to Armistice Day on November 11, 1918.
Although Woodrow Wilson had wanted to wage war for the sake of humanity, the negotiations over the Treaty of Versailles underlined in his Fourteen Points for Peace made it plainly clear 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 under the newly formed Weimar Republic. Financial reparations were imposed on the Germans, despite British reservations and American protests, largely because of France's desire for punitive peace.[17]
World War I was theoretically the end of the Royal Navy's superiority, an eclipse acknowledged in the Washington Naval Treaty, when the United States and the United Kingdom agreed to the allocation of equal tonnage quotas on February 6, 1922. Although the United States Navy had the right to build a navy equal in size and power of the British Royal Navy, it voluntarily opted to remain the junior of the two navies, with a smaller, albeit growing, fleet of vessels. Nevertheless, the United States' policies on immigration and trade ignited a Pacific Fleet rivalry with the Empire of Japan rather than an Atlantic Fleet rivalry with the British Empire.
In the 1920s, relations between the two countries took on many different forms, especially given American refusal to join the League of Nations. While the United States participated in functional bodies of the League —to the satisfaction of Britain— it was a delicate issue linking the US to the League in public. Thus, some conferences, like the Washington Conference mentioned above, occurred outside League auspices. The US would often be unable to send official delegates to League committees, instead sending unofficial "observers," considering the strained political debate in the country between Isolationism and Internationalism.
During the Great Depression, the United States was preoccupied with its own internal affairs and economic recovery, espousing an isolationist policy. As a result, the US was only sporadically active in foreign affairs throughout the 1930s. After the United States imposed a high tariff on foreign imports in 1930 called the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, the United Kingdom and the rest of the British Empire unsuccessfully built up imperial trade preferences, thereby attempting to promote trade internally and divert trade away from the United States. Nevertheless, the Great Depression did eventually spread to the United Kingdom, so much that the UK Treasury found it nearly impossible to repay loans and war bonds granted by banks in the United States during World War I. In the end, most of the World War I debt which had been accrued by the United Kingdom as well as many other European countries were largely written off and excused by American bankers.
Towards the end of 1936, the Abdication Crisis, while absorbing popular interest in both the United Kingdom and the United States, did not become a foreign relations issue. At the insistence of Stanley Baldwin, the ultimatum was given to King Edward VIII of retaining his throne as head of the Church of England, or renouncing his birth right as King and marrying an American divorcee named Wallis Simpson.
Tensions over the Irish question diminished with the independence of the Irish Free State, which was granted much earlier in 1922, and with the ambassadorship of Joseph P. Kennedy to the Court of St. James's beginning in 1938.[26]
Though much of the American people were sympathetic to the United Kingdom and France during their dangerous confrontation with Nazi Germany, there was widespread opposition to possible American intervention in European affairs. This was highlighted in a series of Neutrality Acts which were ratified by the United States Congress in 1935, 1936, and 1937 respectively. However, Franklin Roosevelt's policy of cash-and-carry still allowed the United Kingdom and France to order munitions from the United States.
Winston Churchill, whose mother was an American, became prime minister after the Allies' failure to prevent the German invasion of Norway. After the fall of France, Franklin Roosevelt gave the United Kingdom and later the Soviet Union all aid short of war. The Destroyers for Bases Agreement which was signed in September 1940, gave the United States a ninety-nine-year rent-free lease of numerous land and air bases throughout the British Empire in exchange for the United Kingdom receiving possession of fifty destroyers from the United States Navy. Beginning in March 1941, the United States enacted Lend-Lease in the form of Sherman tanks, fighter airplanes, munitions, bullets, food, and medical supplies which were sent to the United Kingdom, $31.4 billion out of a total of $50.1 billion ($700 billion in 2007) sent to the Allies.[27]
Before the attack on Pearl Harbor and the declaration of war by the United States Congress on Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan in December 1941, two United States Navy destroyers had already been torpedoed on convoy duties in the North Atlantic Ocean. The United States nevertheless became extensively involved in the European theatre due to the real and perceived threat of the Axis Powers eventually reaching American shores, contingent on the Allies in Fortress Europe and to another extent, the Allies in the Pacific War, being defeated. 73,000 British and 60,000 Americans stormed the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944, and both nations' armed forces fought alongside each other at the invasion of Sicily from July to August 1943, the Battle of Monte Cassino from January to May 1944, Operation Market Garden in September 1944, the Battle of Overloon from September to October 1944, the Battle of the Bulge from December 1944 to January 1945, and many other numerous battles in the China Burma India Theater of World War II as well as the Pacific War. It was during this period of extremely close cooperation that the "Special Relationship" was created and conceptualized.[28]
Millions of American servicemen were based in the United Kingdom during World War II, which led to a certain amount of friction with their British counterparts. This animosity was explored in art and film, most particularly A Matter of Life and Death and A Canterbury Tale.
As part of their military collaboration throughout the war, scientists and physicists from the United States, the United Kingdom, and many other countries, all under the control of the United States Army Corps of Engineers and the administration of General Leslie Groves, worked in total secrecy on the Manhattan Project, which eventually achieved the objective of building an atomic bomb before Nazi Germany could obtain and use such a weapon. Scientific research during the Manhattan Project was directed and headed by an American theoretical physicist named Robert Oppenheimer.[29][30]
The United States and Britain during World War II met during three conferences at Tehran in November 1943 and Yalta in February 1945. The relationship between Churchill and Roosevelt was close after the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 7, 1941 which the United States send troops to help Britain.
Also at the end of World War II Churchill had sent British Pacific Fleet to help the United States during the Battle of Okinawa in 1945 to neutralize the Japanese air power. During the Potsdam Conference in July 1945 President Truman received a secret of testing of atomic bombs and then he told Churchill about the secret.
In the years following World War II, the United Kingdom found itself in virtual financial ruin whereas the United States was in the midst of an economic boom. Due to many hardships during and after the toll of war, the British Empire went into relative decline as several of its overseas colonies began the process of de-colonization, most notably, the independence of India which occurred in 1947.
Furthermore, the United Kingdom found itself at the mercy of American economic policy when the United States abruptly terminated lend-lease at the end of World War II. This fact was highlighted by the Anglo-American loan made to the United Kingdom by the United States in 1946. At a 2% interest rate, the terms of this loan were $586 million (£145 million in 1945) and a $375 million line of credit which was to be paid off in 50 annual installments, the first payment being due in 1950. The United Kingdom deferred twice on repayment with the last payment of $83 million (£45.5 million) being sent to the United States Federal Reserve on December 31, 2006.[31]
The United States and the United Kingdom became founding members of the United Nations in 1945, as well as becoming two of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. In the post-war era, the United States and the United Kingdom were becoming increasingly suspicious of the motives of their former ally, the Soviet Union. Rising tensions between the capitalist and communist powers led to the Cold War. Thus, close cooperation between the United States and the United Kingdom resulted in the formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization with their European allies, a mutual defense alliance whereby if one country is attacked, then it is seen as an attack on all countries.
On February 11, 1946, negotiators from the United Kingdom and the United States signed the Bermuda I Agreement, a bilateral air transport agreement which regulated commercial air transport between British and American airports.
The United States began practicing an anti-colonial and anti-communist stance in its foreign policy throughout the Cold War. Military forces from the United States and the United Kingdom were heavily involved in the Korean War, fighting under a United Nations mandate. A withdrawal of military forces occurred when a stalemate was implemented in 1953. When the Suez Crisis erupted in October 1956, the United States feared a wider war after the Soviet Union and the other Warsaw Pact nations threatened to intervene on the Egyptian side. Thus, the United States demanded that the United Kingdom and France end their invasion of Egypt or otherwise face imminent economic sanctions which would in all probable causes, create an economic collapse in the United Kingdom and a severe devaluation of the sterling pound. This threat made by Dwight Eisenhower led to an immediate British and French withdrawal of their military occupation as well as the immediate resignation of Anthony Eden in 1957.
Dwight D. Eisenhower's taking over the White House in January 1953 might have been expected to guarantee a continuance of good United States-United Kingdom relations, if not indeed a period of even closer collaboration. The record of Anglo-American cooperation during Eisenhower's presidency was trouble and checkered, approaching in 1956 a complete breakdown that represented the lowest point in the relation of the two countries since 1920s. During the years of 1953–1961 the British and US relation between Dwight D. Eisenhower and Winston Churchill restored wartime partnership. Winston Churchill became Prime Minister again in 1951, he restored the greatest partnership to his old post. But when Anthony Eden took over from Churchill in 1955 had first hand with experience of Anglo-American collaboration.
Through the US-UK Mutual Defence Agreement signed in 1958, the United States assisted the United Kingdom in their own development of a nuclear arsenal. In April 1963, John F. Kennedy and Harold Macmillan signed the Polaris Sales Agreement to the effect of the United States agreeing to supply the UGM-27 Polaris ballistic missile to the United Kingdom and for use in the Royal Navy's submarine fleet starting in 1968.[32]
The United States gradually became involved in the Vietnam War in the early 1960s, but received no support this time from the United Kingdom. Anti-Americanism due to the Vietnam War and a lack of American support for France and the United Kingdom over the Suez Crisis weighed heavily on the minds of many in Europe. This sentiment extended in the United Kingdom by Harold Wilson's refusal to send British troops to Indochina.
On July 23, 1977, officials from the United Kingdom and the United States renegotiated the previous Bermuda I Agreement, thus signing the Bermuda II Agreement to the effect of only four combined airlines, two from the United Kingdom and two from the United States, being allowed to operate flights from London Heathrow Airport and specified "gateway cities" in the United States. The Bermuda II Agreement was in effect for nearly 30 years until it was eventually replaced by the EU-US Open Skies Agreement, which was signed on April 30, 2007 and entering into effect on March 30, 2008.
Throughout the 1980s, Margaret Thatcher was strongly supportive of Ronald Reagan's unwavering stance towards the Soviet Union. Often described as 'political soulmates' and a high point in the "Special Relationship," both President Reagan and Prime Minister Thatcher met on numerous occasions throughout their political careers, speaking in concert when confronting Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev.
In 1982, the British Government made a request to the United States, which the Americans agreed upon in principle, to sell the Trident II D5 ballistic missile, associated equipment, and related system support for use on four Vanguard class nuclear submarines in the Royal Navy. The Trident II D5 ballistic missile replaced the United Kingdom's previous use of the UGM-27 Polaris ballistic missile, beginning in the mid-1990s.[32]
In the Falklands War, the United States initially tried to mediate between the United Kingdom and Argentina in 1982, but ultimately ended up supporting the United Kingdom's counter-invasion. The United States Defense Department under Caspar Weinberger, supplied the British military with equipment as well as logistical support.[33]
In October 1983, the United States and a coalition of Caribbean nations undertook Operation Urgent Fury, codename for the invasion of the Commonwealth island nation of Grenada. A bloody Marxist-coup had overrun Grenada and neighboring countries in the region asked the United States to intervene militarily, which it did successfully despite having made assurances to a deeply resentful British Government.
On April 15, 1986, the United States Air Force with elements of naval and marine forces launched Operation El Dorado Canyon from RAF Fairford, RAF Upper Heyford, RAF Lakenheath, and RAF Mildenhall. Despite firm opposition from within the Conservative Party, Margaret Thatcher nevertheless gave Ronald Reagan permission to use Royal Air Force stations in the United Kingdom during the bombings of Tripoli and Benghazi in Libya, a counter-attack by the United States in response to Muammar Gaddafi's exportation of state-sponsored terrorism directed towards civilians and American servicemen stationed in West Berlin.
On December 21, 1988, Pan American Worldways' Flight 103 from London Heathrow Airport to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport exploded over the town of Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 169 Americans and 40 Britons onboard. The motive that is generally attributed to the country of Libya can be traced back to a series of military confrontations with the United States Navy that took place in the 1980s in the Gulf of Sidra, the whole of which Libya claimed as its territorial waters. Despite a guilty verdict announced on January 31, 2001 by the Scottish High Court of Justiciary which ruled against Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, the alleged bomber on charges of murder and the conspiracy to commit murder, Libya had never formally admitted carrying out the 1988 bombing over Scotland until 2003.
During the Soviet war in Afghanistan, the United States and the United Kingdom throughout the 1980s provided arms to the Mujahadeen rebels in Afghanistan until the last troops from the Soviet Union left Afghanistan on February 15, 1989.
When the United States became the world's lone superpower after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, new threats emerged which confronted the United States and its NATO allies. With military build-up beginning in August 1990 and the use of force beginning in January 1991, the United States, followed by the United Kingdom, provided the two largest forces respectively for the coalition army which liberated Kuwait from Saddam Hussein's regime during the Persian Gulf War.
In 1997, the British Labour Party was elected to office for the first time in eighteen years. The new prime minister, Tony Blair, and Bill Clinton both used the expression 'Third Way' to describe their centre-left ideologies. In August 1997, the American people expressed solidarity with the British people, sharing in their grief and sense of shock on the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, who perished in a car crash in Paris, France. Hillary Rodham Clinton attended the funeral at Westminster Abbey on September 6, 1997.
Throughout 1998 and 1999, the United States and the United Kingdom sent troops to impose peace during the Kosovo War.
2,669 Americans and 67 Britons at the World Trade Center, The Pentagon, and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania were victims of a terrorist plot orchestrated by the terrorist group known as al-Qaeda on September 11, 2001. Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, there was an enormous outpouring of sympathy from the United Kingdom for the American people, and Tony Blair was one of George W. Bush's strongest international supporters for bringing al-Qaeda and the Taliban to justice. With permission from Queen Elizabeth II, the Star Spangled Banner was played in the forecourt of Buckingham Palace during Guard Mounting on September 12, 2001 in the presence of Prince Andrew, Duke of York and then United States Ambassador to the Court of St. James's, William Farish.
The United States declared a War on Terror following the attacks. British forces participated in the United States-led war in Afghanistan and unlike France, Canada, Germany, China, and Russia, the United Kingdom, as well as the Commonwealth nation of Australia, supported the United States-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. The United States, followed closely by the United Kingdom, contributed the most troops to the coalition during the initial invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the ensuing Iraq War which followed.[34]
The July 7, 2005 London bombings emphasized the difference in the nature of the terrorist threat to both nations. The United States concentrated primarily on global 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 emphasized the United Kingdom's threat from the radicalization of its own people.
By 2007, support amongst the British public for the Iraq war had plummeted.[35] Despite Tony Blair's historically low approval ratings with the British people, mainly due to allegations of faulty government intelligence of Iraq possessing weapons of mass destruction, his unapologetic and unwavering stance for the United Kingdom's alliance with the United States can be summed up in his own words. He said, "We should remain the closest ally of the US... not because they are powerful, but because we share their values."[36] The alliance between George W. Bush and Tony Blair seriously damaged the prime minister's standing in the eyes of many British citizens.[37] Tony Blair argued it is in the United Kingdom's interest to "protect and strengthen the bond" with the United States regardless of who is in the White House.[38] However, a perception of one-sided compromising personal and political closeness led to serious discussion of the term "Poodle-ism" in the British media, to describe the "Special Relationship" of the British Government and Prime Minister with the White House and President.[39]
On March 31, 2009, Major General Andy Salmon of the British Army formally handed over command of combat operations in Basra, Iraq to Major General Michael Oates of the 10th Mountain Division of the United States Army. This transition marked the beginning of the end of British occupation in southern Iraq. All British servicemen were withdrawn with the exception of 400 who remained in Iraq until July 31, 2009.[40]
On June 11, 2009, the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda accepted four Chinese Uighurs from the United States' detainment facility known as Guantanamo Bay detention camp located on the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba. At the request of the United States Government, Bermudan officials agreed to host Khaleel Mamut, Hozaifa Parhat, Salahidin Abdulahat, and Abdullah Abdulqadirakhun as guest workers in Bermuda who seven years ago, were all captured by Pakistani bounty hunters during the United States-led invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001. This decision agreed upon by American and Bermudan officials drew considerable consternation and contempt by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as it was viewed by British officials in London that they should have been consulted on whether or not the decision to take in four Chinese Uighurs was a security and foreign issue of which the Bermudian government does not have delegated responsibility over.[41]
On August 20, 2009, Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill publicly announced during a media conference that Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, the only person convicted of the terrorist plot which killed 169 Americans and 40 Britons on Pan American Worldways' Flight 103 over the town of Lockerbie, Scotland on December 21, 1988, was to be released from a Scottish jail on compassionate grounds based on medical advice verifying that Abdelbaset al-Megrahi has terminal cancer and an estimated three months left to live.[42] After media reports showed Abdelbaset al-Megrahi at Tripoli International Airport receiving a hero's welcome on Libyan soil, fury and mounting anger grew in the United States over the decision itself to release Abdelbaset al-Megrahi under the framework of Scottish law for a crime he was found guilty of committing on January 31, 2001 by the Scottish High Court of Justiciary and one in which his sentence carried out was being revoked. The judges recommended a minimum of 20 years "in view of the horrendous nature of this crime."[43] From the American viewpoint, the decision to release Abdelbaset al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds was seen as uncompassionate and insensitive to the memory of the victims of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said that the decision made her "deeply disappointed."[44] President Barack Obama said that the decision was "highly objectionable" while FBI Director Robert Mueller had even more strong words in an open letter written to Kenny MacAskill in which he said the decision to release Abdelbaset al-Megrahi "makes a mockery of the rule of law."[45]
Prime Minister Gordon Brown and several officials of the British Government declined to say whether or not they supported the release of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi as they repeatedly stressed that the decision was a devolved matter and under the sole authority of the Scottish Government.[46] Nevertheless, serious questions arose as to whether or not a lucrative trade agreement or oil deal was made between Libya and the United Kingdom, contingent upon the release of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, as claimed by Saif Gaddafi, the son of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. After the release, Colonel Gaddafi stated, "And I say to my friend Brown, the prime minister of Britain [sic], his government, the Queen of Britain, Elizabeth, and Prince Andrew, who all contributed to encouraging the Scottish government to take this historic and courageous decision, despite the obstacles." In response to all accusations made in the media, Lord Mandelson, the United Kingdom's Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills made a rebuttal by saying, "It's not only completely wrong to make such a suggestion, it's also quite offensive."[47]
Surrounding the controversy of releasing Abdelbaset al-Megrahi and the allegations of a trade deal between Libya and the United Kingdom, a backlash of angry protesters in the United States called for a boycott of Scotland. A web site in the form of an online petition was launched soon thereafter with a list of e-mail addresses of Scottish and British politicians, contact details of Scottish newspapers, and a list of Scottish products and companies for the American people to economically boycott. The online web petition claimed that a boycott of Scotland was the "only way to send a clear and direct message" of American contempt. Grassroots campaigns also took hold on social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook, while there were calls to have Scotch whisky renamed as 'Freedom Liquor.'[48]
In the aftermath of the release of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, several commentators suggested that British-American relations have been damaged due to the actions of the Scottish Government. Others in the media as well as in government circles have even questioned whether or not the "Special Relationship" developed between the United Kingdom and the United States during World War II still exists.[49] David Rivkin, a former official of the United States Department of Justice said, "This will damage US relations with Britain for years to come."[50] However, Louis Susman, the United States Ambassador to the Court of St. James's said that although the decision made by Scotland to release Abdelbaset al-Megrahi on the grounds of compassion was seen by the United States as extremely regrettable, relations with the United Kingdom would remain fully intact and strong.[51] Despite these assurances made by the United States, sceptics such as Susan Stewart, a former diplomat of Scottish Affairs contended that Scotland's standing and negative image in the United States resulted in a setback of Scottish-American relations where only a 'diplomatic charm offensive' on the behalf of Scotland could repair the damage already done.[52]
In April 2010, the explosion, sinking and resultant oil spill from the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig led to diplomatic friction and populist Anti-British sentiment, even though the Rig was owned and operated by the American company Transocean. Commentators referred to "British Petroleum" even though the company had been known as "BP" since 1998.[53][54] UK politicians expressed concerns about Anti-British rhetoric in the USA.[55][56] BP's CEO Tony Hayward was called "the most hated man in America".[57] Conversely, the widespread public demonisation of BP and the effects on the company and its image, coupled with Obama's statements with regard to BP caused a degree of Anti-American sentiment in the UK. This was particularly evidenced by the comments of the Business Secretary Vince Cable, who said that "It's clear that some of the rhetoric in the US is extreme and unhelpful",[58] for reasons of British pension funds, loss of revenues for the exchequer and the adverse effect such the rhetoric was having on the share price of one of the UK's largest companies. The meeting between Barack Obama and David Cameron in July somewhat helped strained diplomatic relations, and President Obama stated that there lies a "truly special relations" between the two countries. The degree to which Anti-British or Anti-American hostilities continue to exist, remains to be seen.
Present British policy is that the relationship with the United States represents the United Kingdom's "most important bilateral relationship" in the world.[3] United States Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton paid tribute to the relationship in February 2009 by saying, "it stands the test of time".[59]
On March 3, 2009, Gordon Brown made his first visit to the Obama White House. During his visit, he presented the president a gift in the form of a pen holder carved from HMS Gannet, which served anti-slavery missions off the coast of Africa. Barack Obama’s gift to the prime minister was a box of 25 DVDs with movies including Star Wars and E.T.—all of which were Region 1 disks, unplayable on most machines sold outside the United States.[60] The wife of the prime minister, Sarah Brown, gave the Obama daughters, Sasha and Malia, two dresses from British clothing retailer Topshop, and a few unpublished books that have not reached the United States. Michelle Obama gave the prime minister's sons two Marine One helicopter toys.[61] During this visit to the United States, Gordon Brown made an address to a joint session of the United States Congress, a privilege rarely accorded to foreign heads of government.
On June 13, 2009, Michelle Obama and her two children, Sasha Obama and Malia Obama, had a private audience with Queen Elizabeth II. During this visit, the Obama children were granted a rare and unprecedented three-hour tour of the State rooms at Buckingham Palace. The Queen and the First Lady are known to have discussed their mutual love of gardening, the countryside, and fashion.[62] Michelle Obama did, however, cause controversy when she apparently touched the Queen, Mrs Obama apparently putting her hand on the Queen's back. The breach of royal protocol was not noticed by the Queen.[63]
In March 2009, a Gallup poll was conducted by means of a telephone survey of 1,023 adults in the United States. Of those surveyed, 36% identified the United Kingdom as their country's "most valuable ally", followed by Canada, Japan, Israel, and Germany rounding out the top five.[64] The poll also indicated that 89% of Americans view the United Kingdom favorably, second only to Canada with 90%.[64] According to the Pew Research Center, a global survey conducted in July 2009 revealed that 70% of Britons who responded had a favorable view of the United States.[65]
Former United Kingdom Secretary of State for Defence Liam Fox criticized minor American defense adjustments and announced that British military spending will be cut by a level expected to be 10 to 20 percent.[66][67]
Minor British public dissatisfaction was experienced during the United States-executed rescue attempt of British aid worker Linda Norgrove who had been taken hostage by members of the Taliban in the Kunar Province of Afghanistan when it emerged she may have been accidentally killed by a grenade thrown by one of the U.S. special forces soldiers.[68] Many members of the British public did not understand why the soldiers would have been using grenades in a hostage situation. Largely, however the British public united behind David Cameron's decision to mount a rescue attempt[69] and agreed her death was as a result of the actions of the kidnappers, with only 24% deeming the U.S. forces to have been responsible.[69] In addition to this on January 11th 2011 the Daily Mail released a story in which it is revealed that Barack Obama values the French more than the British as allies. On the same page it is made apparent that Obama snubbed meetings with former Prime Minister Gordon Brown. However the same page has comments from the American public who do not share the same view as President Obama.
In February 2011, The Daily Telegraph, based on evidence from Wikileaks, reported that the United States had tendered sensitive information about the British Trident nuclear arsenal (whose missile delivery systems are manufactured and maintained in the United States) to the Russian Federation as part of a deal to encourage Russia to ratify the New START Treaty. Professor Malcolm Chalmers of the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies speculated that serial numbers could undermine Britain's non-verification policy by providing Russia "with another data point to gauge the size of the British arsenal".[70]
On May 25th 2011, during his official visit to the UK, President Barack Obama reaffirmed the relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States of America in an address to Parliament at Westminster Hall. Amongst other points, Obama stated: "I've come here today to reaffirm one of the oldest; one of the strongest alliances the World has ever known. It's long been said that the United States and The United Kingdom share a special relationship."[71]
The United States accounts for the United Kingdom's largest single export market, buying $57 billion worth of British goods in 2007.[72] Total trade of imports and exports between the United Kingdom and the United States amounted to the sum of $107.2 billion in 2007.[73]
The United States and the United Kingdom share the world's largest foreign direct investment partnership. In 2005, American direct investment in the United Kingdom totaled $324 billion while British direct investment in the United States totaled $282 billion.[74]
More than 4.5 million Britons visit the United States every year, spending approximately $14 billion. Around 3 million Americans visit the United Kingdom every year, spending approximately $10 billion.[75]
New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport is the most popular international destination for people flying out of London Heathrow Airport. Approximately 2,802,870 people on multiple daily non-stop flights flew from Heathrow to JFK in 2008.[76] Concorde, British Airway's flagship supersonic airliner, began trans-Atlantic service to Washington Dulles International Airport in the United States on May 24, 1976. After the United States Supreme Court ruled on October 17, 1977 to lift a lower court's ban on sonic boom over the skies of New York City, the traditional trans-Atlantic route between London's Heathrow and New York's JFK in under 3½ hours, had its first operational flight between the two hubs on October 19, 1977 and the last being on October 23, 2003.[77]
Cunard Line, a British shipping company which is owned jointly by a British-American-Panamanian parent company, Carnival Corporation, provides seasonal trans-Atlantic crossings aboard the RMS Queen Mary 2 and the MS Queen Victoria between Southampton and New York City.[78]
Also, both the USA and the UK continue to use Imperial for road signs.
Reciprocal state and official visits have been carried out over the years by three Presidents of the United States as well as two British monarchs. Throughout her lifetime, Queen Elizabeth II has met a total of eleven presidents (Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush Sr., Clinton, Bush Jr, and Obama), with the notable exception of Lyndon B. Johnson and she also met former President Herbert Hoover (1929–33) in 1957.[79]
| Dates | Monarch and Consort | Locations | Itinerary |
| June 7–11, 1939 | King George VI and Queen Elizabeth | Washington D.C., New York City, and Hyde Park (New York) | Paid a state visit to Washington D.C., stayed at the White House, laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery, visited George Washington's Virginian plantation Mount Vernon, made an appearance at the 1939 World's Fair in New York City, and made a private visit to Franklin Roosevelt's upstate New York retreat, Springwood Estate. |
| October 17–20, 1957 | Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh | Jamestown and Williamsburg (Virginia), Washington D.C., and New York City | Paid a state visit to Washington D.C., attended the official ceremonies of the 350th anniversary of the settlement of Jamestown, Virginia, and made a brief stop-over in New York City before sailing to the United Kingdom. |
| July 6–9, 1976 | Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh | Philadelphia, Washington D.C., New York City, Charlottesville (Virginia), Newport and Providence (Rhode Island), and Boston | Paid a state visit to Washington D.C. and toured the United States East Coast in conjunction with the United States Bicentennial celebrations aboard HMY Britannia. |
| February 26- March 7, 1983 | Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh | San Diego, Palm Springs, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Yosemite National Park (California), and Seattle (Washington) | Made an official visit to the United States, toured the United States West Coast aboard HMY Britannia, and made a private visit to Ronald Reagan's retreat in the Santa Ynez Mountains, Rancho del Cielo. |
| May 14–17, 1991 | Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh | Washington D.C., Baltimore (Maryland), Miami and Tampa (Florida), Austin, San Antonio, and Houston (Texas), and Lexington (Kentucky) | Paid a state visit to Washington D.C., addressed a joint session of the United States Congress, made a private visit to Kentucky, and toured the Southern United States. |
| May 3–8, 2007 | Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh | Richmond, Jamestown, and Williamsburg (Virginia), Louisville (Kentucky), Greenbelt (Maryland), and Washington D.C. | Paid a state visit to Washington D.C., addressed the Virginia General Assembly, attended the official ceremonies of the 400th anniversary of the establishment of Jamestown, toured NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, visited the National World War II Memorial on the National Mall, and made a private visit to Kentucky to attend the 133rd Kentucky Derby. |
| Dates | Administration | Locations | Itinerary |
| December 26–28, 1918 | Woodrow Wilson and Edith Wilson | London, Carlisle, and Manchester | Made an official visit to the United Kingdom, stayed at Buckingham Palace, attended an official dinner, had an audience with King George V and Queen Mary, and made a private visit called the 'pilgrimage of the heart' to the ancestral home of his British-born mother, Janet Woodrow. |
| June 7–9, 1982 | Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan | London and Windsor | Made an official visit to the United Kingdom, stayed at Windsor Castle, attended a state banquet, and addressed the Parliament of the United Kingdom. |
| November 18–21, 2003 | George W. Bush and Laura Bush | London and Sedgefield | Paid a state visit to the United Kingdom, stayed at Buckingham Palace, attended a state banquet, laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey, and made a private visit to Tony Blair's constituency in the north of England. |
| May 24- , 2011 | Barack Obama and Michelle Obama | London | Paid a state visit to the United Kingdom, stayed at Buckingham Palace, attended a state banquet, addressed Parliament, presented wedding gifts to Prince William and the Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge(donation of MacBook notebook computers to Peace Players International); met with Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip and Prime Minister David Cameron. |
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The Strategic Alliance Cyber Crime Working Group is an initiative by Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and headed by the United States as a "formal partnership between these nations dedicated to tackling larger global crime issues, particularly organized crime." The cooperation consists of "five countries from three continents banding together to fight cyber crime in a synergistic way by sharing intelligence, swapping tools and best practices, and strengthening and even synchronizing their respective laws."[83]
Within this initiative, there is increased information sharing between the United Kingdom's Serious Organised Crime Agency and the United States' Federal Bureau of Investigation on matters relating to serious fraud or cyber crime.
The UK-USA Security Agreement is an alliance of five English-speaking countries; Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States, for the sole purpose of sharing intelligence. The precursor to this agreement is essentially an extension of the historic BRUSA Agreement which was signed in 1943. In association with the ECHELON system, all five nations are assigned to intelligence collection and analysis from different parts of the world. For example, the United Kingdom hunts for communications in Europe, Africa, and Russia west of the Ural Mountains whereas the United States has responsibility for gathering intelligence in Latin America, Asia, Asiatic Russia, and northern mainland China.[84]
The United States shares with its mother country many threads of cultural heritage.
Unlike Britain, the U.S. remains highly religious, with the largest protestant denominations derivatives of British churches brought across the Atlantic by 18th century missionaries, such as the Baptists and Methodists. The Congregationalists and Episcopalians likewise have strong English roots. The American legal systems is largely based on English common law. The American system of local and government is rooted in English precedents, such as the offices of county courts and sheriffs.
In the area of economics and as two leading nations that both use a capitalist macroeconomic model, both the United Kingdom and the United States practice what is commonly referred to as an Anglo-Saxon economy in which levels of regulation and taxes are low, and government provides a low to medium level of social services in return.[85]
Since English is the de facto language of the United Kingdom and the United States, both nations belong to the English-speaking world. However, the common language which binds the peoples of the United Kingdom and the United States does come with small differences in spelling, pronunciation, and the meaning of words.[86]
Independence Day, July 4, is a national celebration which commemorates the July 4, 1776 adoption of the Declaration of Independence from the British Empire. American defiance of Britain is expressed in the American national anthem, The Star Spangled Banner, written during the War of 1812 as the Americans beat off an attack on Baltimore.
Literature is transferred across the Atlantic Ocean, as evidenced by, the appeal of British authors such as William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, J. R. R. Tolkien, Jackie Collins, and J.K. Rowling in the United States, and American authors such as Harriet Beecher Stowe, Mark Twain, Ernest Hemingway and Dan Brown in Britain. Henry James moved to Britain and was well known in both countries, as was T.S. Eliot. Eliot moved to England in 1914 and became a British subject in 1927. He was a dominant figure in literary criticism and greatly influenced the Modern period of British literature.[87]
British Sunday broadsheet newspaper The Observer includes a condensed copy of The New York Times.[88]
There is much crossover appeal in the modern entertainment culture of the United Kingdom and the United States. For example, Hollywood blockbuster movies made by Steven Spielberg and George Lucas have had a large effect on British audiences in the United Kingdom, while the James Bond and Harry Potter series of films have attracted high interest in the United States. Also, the animated films of Walt Disney have continued to make an indelible mark and impression on British audiences, young and old, for almost 100 years. Films by Alfred Hitchcock continuously make a lasting impact on a loyal fan base in the United States, as Alfred Hitchcock himself influenced notable American film makers such as John Carpenter, in the horror and slasher film genres.
Production of films are often shared between the two nations, whether it be a concentrated use of British and American actors or the use of film studios located in London or Hollywood.
Broadway theatre in New York City has toured London's West End theatre over the years, with notable performances such as The Lion King, Grease, Wicked, and Rent. British productions, such as Mamma Mia! and several of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musicals, including Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Cats and The Phantom of the Opera have found success on Broadway. For many years, the comedies, histories, and tragedies written by English playwright William Shakespeare have also proven to be overwhelmingly popular on the American stage.
Both the United Kingdom and the United States have television shows which are similar, as they are either carried by the other nations' networks, or are re-created for distribution in their own nations. Some popular British television shows that were re-created for the American market in more recent years are The Office, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, Strictly Come Dancing (Dancing With the Stars), Top Gear Pop Idol (American Idol) and The X Factor. Some American television shows re-created for the British market in more recent years include The Apprentice and Deal or No Deal. Popular American television shows that are currently popular in the United Kingdom include The Simpsons, Modern Family, South Park, Scrubs, Family Guy, Friends and the CSI: Crime Scene Investigation series.
The BBC airs two networks in the United States, BBC America and BBC World. The American network PBS collaborates with the BBC and rebroadcasts British television shows in the United States such as Monty Python's Flying Circus, Keeping Up Appearances, Doctor Who, Nova, and Masterpiece Theatre. The BBC also frequently collaborates with American network HBO, showing recent American mini-series in the United Kingdom such as Rome, John Adams, Band of Brothers, and The Gathering Storm. Likewise, the American network Discovery Channel has partnered with the BBC by televising recent British mini-series in the United States such as Planet Earth and The Blue Planet, the latter popularly known as The Blue Planet: Seas of Life in the American format. The United States' public affairs channel C-Span, broadcasts Prime Minister's Questions every Sunday.
On some British digital television platforms, it is also possible to watch American television channels direct from the United Kingdom, such as Fox News, as well as American television channels tailored for British audiences such as CNBC Europe, CNN Europe, ESPN Classic UK, Comedy Central UK, and FX UK. The Super Bowl, the National Football League's championship tournament of American football which occurs every February, has been broadcast in the United Kingdom since 1982.[89]
American artists such as Madonna, Tina Turner, Cher, Michael Jackson, Bing Crosby, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Diana Ross, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Frank Sinatra and Beyoncé, are popular in the United Kingdom. British artists such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Sting, The Who, Shirley Bassey, Tom Jones, David Bowie, The Spice Girls, The Bee Gees, Amy Winehouse, KT Tunstall, Leona Lewis, Elton John (Elton John recorded Candle in the Wind which, to date, is the best ever selling single worldwide) and Coldplay have achieved much success in the large American market. Undoubtedly, the popular music of both nations has had a strong sway on each other.
In the United Kingdom, many Hollywood films as well as Broadway musicals are closely associated and identified with the musical scores and soundtracks created by famous American composers such as George Gershwin, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Henry Mancini, John Williams, Alan Silvestri, Jerry Goldsmith, and James Horner.
The Celtic music of the United Kingdom has had a dynamic effect upon American music.[90] In particular, the traditional music of the Southern United States is descended from traditional Celtic music and English folk music of the colonial period, and the musical traditions of the South eventually gave rise to country music and, to a lesser extent, American folk.[91]
The birth of jazz, swing, big band, and especially rock and roll, all developed and originating in the United States, had greatly influenced the later development of rock music in the United Kingdom, particularly British rock bands such as The Beatles and the Rolling Stones, while its American precursor, the blues, greatly influenced British electric rock.[92]
| “ | I cannot but lament. . . the impending Calamities Britain and her Colonies are about to suffer, from great Imprudencies on both Sides – Passion governs, and she never governs wisely – Anxiety begins to disturb my Rest. | ” |
| “ | Once vigorous measures appear to be the only means left of bringing the Americans to a due submission to the mother country, the colonies will submit. | ” |
| “ | I was the last to consent to the Separation, but the Separation having been made and having become inevitable, I have always said, as I say now, that I would be the first to meet the Friendship of the United States as an independent Power. . . let the Circumstances of Language; Religion and Blood have their natural and full Effect. | ” |
| “ | The appointment of a Minister from the United States to your Majesty’s Court, will form an Epocha in the History of England & of America. I think myself more fortunate than all my fellow Citizens in having the distinguished Honor to be the first to stand in your Majesty’s royal Presence in a diplomatic Character . . . | ” |
| “ | England and America are two countries separated by a common language. | ” |
| “ | These two great organisations of the English-speaking democracies, the British Empire and the United States, will have to be somewhat mixed up together in some of their affairs for mutual and general advantage. For my own part, looking out upon the future, I do not view the process with any misgivings. I could not stop it if I wished; no one can stop it. Like the Mississippi, it just keeps rolling along. Let it roll. Let it roll on full flood, inexorable, irresistible, benignant, to broader lands and better days. | ” |
| “ | We are bound by so much more than just language. Many of our values, beliefs, and principles of government were nurtured on this soft. I also thought of how our future security and prosperity depend on the continued unity of Britain and America. | ” |
| “ | What links our countries is less a place than an idea -- the idea that for nearly 400 years has been America's inheritance and England's bequest. The legacy of democracy, the rule of law, and basic human rights. | ” |
| “ | Britain has repeatedly proved to be America's closest and most effective ally in times of crisis. Our relationship is based, of course, on shared history, values, institutions and language. But it has also been reinforced by strategic interests. If Britain is drawn much further into Europe's plans to create a superstate, its Atlantic orientation will be lost, perhaps irreparably. | ” |
| “ | No one can be as calculatedly rude as the British, which amazes Americans, who do not understand studied insult and can only offer abuse as a substitute. | ” |
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