Anglo-American Relations

In 1783, after the signing of the Treaty of Paris that ended the American Revolution, the United States and the United Kingdom realized that friendship, rather then being enemies, was a better relationship to have. This realization changed would be history dramatically. From this moment onward the pair would side together on just about every issue and problem either had. Protection for each other has come in two ways, militarily and diplomatically. Each, over the years, has signed strategically designed treaties and agreements to protect their “special relationship”. Basically the relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States has evolved from that of mortal enemies to that of the closest allies this world has ever seen and ever will see.

The last major foreign-policy dispute between America and Britain occurred in 1895 over the Venezuela border. This dispute started because one, an official border between British Guiana and Venezuela was never formed and two, gold was found close to the approximate border. In contrast to the future, after 1895, America did not side with Britain on this dispute; in fact this is one of the rare times in which America took sides opposite of the U.K. Only because neither country, U.S. and Britain, wanted trouble, the dispute was resolved politely. After this dispute, America and Britain would virtually side with each other on every topic.

Especially in the 19th century and still today in the 21st century, treaties, between the U.S. and U.K., have been made for one purpose to protect each other. One of the first matters that the superpowers worked together to solve was the dispute of the Alaskan and Canadian border. In 1903 the United Kingdom resolved the border dispute by making the Hay-Herbert treaty, in which the United Kingdom sided with the United States, to form the present Alaskan Canadian border. Although this was a simple matter, since then the United Sates and the United Kingdom have worked together on each and every matter.

The United States’ and Britain’s “special relationship” did not stop because of war; in fact World War One actually strengthened it. Even though America was “neutral”, to support its allies, more specifically Britain, we began to secretly ship military goods to Europe and in return were given a set price on cotton. This is a perfect example of this close relationship between the U.S. and the U.K; we lied about our “neutrality” to support our European brethren. The “English speaking countries” stuck together through the war and used each others resources to thrive and continue to fight the war for freedom. Even though America planned to stay neutral throughout the war, after the sinking of the RMS Lusitania, by German U-boat which caused the deaths of 128 American on board, the United States could no longer stay neutral. Another factor that prompted the U.S. to enter the war was the Zimmerman telegram. The telegram was made by the Germans and was intended for the Mexican government. It basically asked the Mexican government to declare war on the United States, in doing so would prevent the U.S. from fighting in Europe. We found out about it because the British intercepted it and passed it onto us, the U.S. The sinking of Lusitania and the discovery of the Zimmerman telegram prompted the US to enter the war militarily even though we were already in it economically; these two factors were “the straw that broke the camels back”.

One of the first treaties that the U.S. and U.K. created to enforce peace was the treaty of Versailles. This treaty, besides ending World War One for Germany while placing the blame for the entire war on them, attempted to establish world wide and ever lasting peace. Two figures instrumental in this treaty were Widrow Wilson, President of the United States, and Lloyd George, Prime Minister of England, both wanted to organize a peace committee and to establish world peace. Although the peace committee was a complete failure, its collapse allowed the U.K. and U.S. to learn from their mistakes and eventually create a successful committee. This treaty paithed the way for treaties to come, it showed the world that the United States and the United Kingdom were superpowers that had the ability to make and enforce law all over the world, and it showed that the two countries had the same interest in mind, each others.

World War One era was the final time period in which Britain controlled the seas and the era in which Britain began to view America as its equal; this is due partly because of the Five-Power Treaty. Made during the Washington Naval Conference, the Five-Power treaty limited the armament of its five signatories, the United States, the United Kingdom, the Empire of Japan, the French Republic, and the Kingdom of Italy. The Five-Power treaty gave the U.S. and the U.K. the ability to manufacture capital ships over 520,000 tons while limiting